Promise
by Arlina'Harris
Summary: I had been gone for eight long years. The thing is - I hadn't realized just how long those years were until I finally found my way back to the Spirit World, back to my Kohaku. But I didn't just stumble my way back here by accident. No, this time it was fate. Any better summaries?
1. Chapter 1

**(A/N: First time making a story like this... hope you enjoy!) **

**_"Promise"_**

_By: FanFictioner002_

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_Chapter 1_

"Chihiro!" My mother yelled up the stairs. "Chihiro, come down here and see your aunt and uncle before we leave!"

"I'm coming, Mom. Just a minute."

I jumped up off the bed quickly, almost tripping and spraining my ankle again. I was so clumsy that it was actually somewhat funny. Grabbing my phone off of the desk and slipping it into my pocket, I slowly made my way down to the living room where my mother's sister and her family stood, dreading their departure more with every step.

My aunt and uncle greeted me with hugs and compliments as always before they started pestering me about their kids. Would it be alright if they stayed for the night? Would I be alright with them alone? Was I sure?

I put on my best fake smile and assured them that Sora, Miki, and Michi were all complete angels whenever they stayed with me. Of course, that was a complete and utter lie. They were the worst brats I'd ever babysat in my life.

Sora, the eldest, would never acknowledge me as his elder simply because he was a few inches taller. News flash! I had five years on him! The twin girls, Miki and Michi, wouldn't have been so bad for six year olds if they didn't do every single thing Sora told them to do. In their eyes, it was Mommy, Daddy, Big Bro, Auntie, Uncle, and lastly me. They only listened if I were the only authority figure around.

_It's pathetic really. I'm eighteen and starting classes at the university soon, but I still get stuck with stupid jobs like this. _

Everyone said their good-byes, and the four of them left for a Spa Resort that my mother said she desperately needed to visit after seeing her only baby graduate and "get another step closer to adulthood." Personally, I believed she was just looking for an excuse to get away from her job. Her boss had been throwing more and more work at her and demanding she work over time. My now fragile mother couldn't handle too much stress. She was about to burst.

The kids lingered around the doorway and listened for the car to start up and drive away. I stared them down. Something was about to happen. They were plotting something big this time. I was sure of it.

But, as sure as I was, I must have been wrong. They asked to watch a movie and quietly sat in the family room while I made dinner for them. Macaroni wasn't anything special, but after they ate, they politely thanked me for the meal and went back to watch some more television. Maybe things were going to be just fine tonight, and the adults would be back tomorrow evening. Then I could get back to finding a new outfit for my very first day of classes.

After about thirty minutes of watching the stupidest cartoon I'd ever seen, I decided to call Ami, my best friend who lived just two houses over to ask her to come over and keep me company while they were around. I knew she would agree. Even though she had far less patience for kids than I did, I knew that she'd been dying to tell me about running into the boy she liked earlier that week.

Just as I'd known she would, Ami agreed immediately. She would be right over when she finished her chores.

After I hung up the phone, I remembered that I had to clean the kitchen. Mom would go insane if she came back to the mess I'd managed to make when I made the macaroni. Honestly, I didn't know someone could manage to get cheese on every surface, but if anyone could it would be me.

The kitchen was cleaner than it was before when I finally finished and headed back to the family room to sit down and rest. I plopped down on the couch and started surfing the channels before it even hit me that the kids were gone.

Jumping up, I searched every room in the entire house, and the three of them were nowhere to be found. I walked into the entry hall to see if they're shoes and jackets were still there. They were gone.

Something shifted behind me and I turned quickly. All I got was a glimpse of Sora, the girls, and something big right in front of my face before I blacked out.

"Chihiro! Chihiro!"

My name echoed through the black and grabbed me pulling me back to consciousness. Ami kneeled over me. It took me a moment to process the last thing I remembered, but when it all came to me, I jolted upright.

"The kids!" I screamed as I grabbed Ami's shoulders.

"They're not here. The front door was wide open when I got here, and I don't know where they went!" She told me in a high-pitched, panicky voice, and she started to cry.

"We'll find them then! They couldn't have gone far, Ami."

"We can't go out in this rain. It's getting worse out there."

"All the more reason to go then!" I yelled. Those kids may have been brats, but they were my responsibility. I had to find them. Ami tried to stop me, but I ran out the door as fast as I could anyway and left Ami yelling at me in the background.

I ran down the driveway and looked around. In the distance, at the edge of the woods, I saw a small stuffed animal, the same stuffed animal that Michi carried around with her all the time, and I took off into the woods.

I didn't stop to think about anything. Not my bleeding, cold feet that I'd forgotten to protect with my boots, not the fact that I was soaking wet and wearing the thinnest pair of shorts and the thinnest tank top I owned, nothing but finding them. My parents would kill me. My aunt and uncle would spit on my dead, rotting body. They probably wouldn't even give me a proper burial after this.

I ran through the forest screaming their names as loud as I could manage, but it wasn't long until my voice and my strength were gone. I came to halt as I ran right into a statue and leaned on it to hold me up. I wasn't sure where I was or which way I'd even come from.

The echoing of footsteps made me jerk my head up to see a large red entrance of some sort. There was light shining brightly through the tunnel, and I could make out the shadow of someone running through it.

"Sora!" I yelled as I pushed myself from the statue and started running again. But I couldn't catch up no matter how hard I tried because of how badly my legs hurt.

Closing my eyes, I forced myself to keep going. The sound of my steps clattered against the walls, and it felt like they were closing in on me until finally a breeze surrounded me. I knew I was outside again, so I stopped and sunk to the ground. It wasn't cold though, and it wasn't raining. The setting sun in the distance warmed me. After a moment, I pulled myself back to my feet. I'd seen him running through the tunnel. They were here somewhere, and I had to find them.

I turned and looked in every direction. Grass fields as far the eye could see... But there was smoke in the distance coming from what looked like a small village with lots of colorful, old houses. I started walking towards the smoke. People were there then. Maybe they'd seen the kids.

But something felt wrong. Something screamed at me to turn around and go back before it was too late. I had to find the kids. I had to find them. I couldn't turn back now after coming this far after them.

As I got closer, I saw a ditch lined with rocks. Maybe they are going to put a river here, I thought to myself. I jumped down into it and climbed up the other side where steps lead up into what must have been the main street.

I climbed the steps slowly, my legs burning more and more with each one. By now, I wasn't thinking about the kids any more. I was thinking that I was just here visiting. It felt like I was headed to Ami's house to see her or to the mall to hang out with friends. It felt like I'd been here before.

Walking down the main street towards another set of steps, I noticed that every single building was a restaurant, and all of them had something cooking. There was a variety of different smells, and even though they smelled delicious, my body felt nauseous and sick at the thought of eating some of it. My body was warning me.

Despite all of the restaurants and the cooking food, not a soul was in sight. If it weren't for the sizzling of the grills, I'd have thought I was in the middle of a ghost town. The kids would be here somewhere though. Suddenly, I remembered why I was here in the first place.

"Sora! Miki! Michi! Where are you!?" I yelled when I started up the steps leading up to small, red tower. A clock tolled somewhere in the distance to signal the end of the hour, and the sun set behind me completely as darkness washed through the little town. Lamps starting coming on, and I stopped just before reaching the top of the stairs.

Turning, I saw the building I'd come through earlier in the distance, and a large boat glided through the grass fields, no over a large lake. Movement in the corner of my eye made my head turn again. Shadowy looking creatures opened the doors of the little buildings, and before I knew it, those creatures had flooded the streets. I took a few steps backward up the stairs before falling down at the top.

I had to get out of there, but how?

I jumped to my feet as some of the shadow-like things noticed me and turned to run. I didn't get more than a few feet though before noticing a large bridge leading to a huge bathhouse. It was red with a green roof.

Lamps in front of the bathhouse came on, and people who must've worked there stepped out. Some of them looked sort of human, but I could tell they weren't.

"I don't know why we even bother anymore!" A woman dressed in pink said as she came out of the entrance. "We're lucky to get twenty guests a night since that other bathhouse opened in the next town over."

"Don't let Yubaba hear you saying that Lin!" Another one said with a giggle. "She'll send you packing if she does!"

"Sounds great to me! The other bathhouse pays five times more than Yubaba does," Lin told the group of girls around her.

"Shhh! Shut up!" One of them whispered. "Is that a customer?"

All of them looked towards me and stared.

"Welcome to our bathhouse!" Most of them said as they bowed toward me. The one named Lin didn't join in though. Instead she rushed forward as if to get a better look at my face.

"No, no!" A small frog said as he jumped up and down. "It's a human. How did it get here?"

Lin was almost right in front of me before she stopped.

"Sen," she whispered before turning back towards the bathhouse. "Guys, it's Sen! Sen's back!"

"It's Sen! It's Sen!" They all muttered in surprise. "Hurry, someone go tell Yubaba!"

But my name wasn't Sen. My name was...

Suddenly, pictures flashed through my mind. There were pigs, a boiler room with soot workers, the Radish spirit, a large witch taking possession of my name, and... Something else. Someone else.

"Haku," my lips said to Lin. "Where's Haku?"

"Chihiro went looking for the kids, and they came back right after she left..." Ami told the police for the billionth time when they came to question her yet again. "That's all I know."

"All right. Thank you for your time, Miss Yamada."

The police didn't have too many questions. She could tell they were only asking because they had to. They probably thought Chihiro had run off with some guy or something, but Chihiro would never do something like that.

It had been two days already, and there was no sign of her. Ami remembered watching her run off into the night. Not five minutes after she'd left, the kids came back again. She never did.

_If the police don't take this seriously, Chihiro might never come back_, Ami thought.

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**(A/N: Hope you enjoyed. I'll be writing the next chapter!)**


	2. Chapter 2

**(A/N: Did ya'll enjoy? I hope you enjoy this next chapter. Damn, two chapters? Lucky.) **

**_"Promise"_**

_By: FanFictioner002_

* * *

_Chapter 1_

I woke up with the worst headache I'd ever had. Rolling over, I realized that I wasn't in my bed. I wasn't in a bed at all. My eyes snapped open and looked around the room. It was the room where Lin and I had slept with all of the other girls eight years ago... No, it was smaller than that.

I stood up from the sleeping mat and folded it up before noticing the clothes stacked neatly by the door. There was small piece of paper on top of them. I walked over hesitantly and picked it up.

_Sen, come down and get some food after you're all cleaned up_. - Lin

Sliding the door open, I could see that it was night time. The bathhouse was open for business, so there wouldn't be anyone in the employee baths. I'd woken up at the perfect time.

Grabbing the clothes, I dashed out the door and started to look for an elevator. It didn't take long. There was an employee elevator in the first hallway I entered. On the way down, I could see people working, but there weren't nearly as many as there had been last time.

I took the elevator down as far as it would go before I got off. It would only be a couple more staircases down until I got there. I could already hear the hot waters calling my name. They were waiting to soothe the soreness that I felt all over.

I weaved my way through the sparse crowd as I searched for Lin. Everyone was noticing me. I may have been dressed like one of them, but they could smell the human on me.

"Sen," they would whisper as I passed by.

Finally, I found Lin cleaning out one of the tubs with a couple of other girls. She jumped out of the tub as soon as she saw me and tackled me into a hug.

"You're okay!" Lin yelled as squeezed the life out of me.

"I was until you squished all of my organs..."

"Sorry! You had me worried, you know! Passing out like that the moment you get here. And you didn't even say, 'Nice to see you again, Lin.' It was 'Where's Haku?' Then, bam, you fell out!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, Lin. It really is good to see again though. You haven't changed a bit."

It was true, too. She hadn't changed a bit. She was still the same height and wore the same pink work clothes that I now had on, too. She tied her brown hair back at the bottom like she had then, and her bangs were still the same length. Spirits must not have aged like humans because she didn't even look a day older, much less eight years.

"You've changed a lot! You're all grown up now, aren't you?"

It was true. I was taller but not tall. My hair had turned a darker shade of brown, and it gotten longer because it has been a while since I had a haircut. I even had a nice figure that I couldn't complain about. Thank you, dance class and yoga class! If it hadn't been for them, I would have gotten fat off of junk food.

"Let's get some grub, and we'll talk more," Lin said as she grabbed me by the hand and started to pull me along.

"Lin, where exactly is Haku?"

"I don't have a clue. Haku comes around every once in a while, but he doesn't stay here anymore. He was freed from Yubaba. Speaking of, you need to go see Yubaba. Stay here. I'll be right back with the food!"

Lin rushed away leaving me after pushing me down on a bench. I guess it was Yubaba's bathhouse, so I really should go see her. I didn't want to though. She was never a very kind person. It didn't look like I had much of a choice though. I couldn't hide from her while I was living here. That was pretty much impossible. In fact, she was probably watching me as I sat there.

Lin came back with bowls of... rice and something. I wasn't too sure what it was, but it tasted pretty good. I ate it. Afterwards, Lin and I went outside and walked around the town to talk in private.

"So, Lin, what's happened around here? There aren't as many employees or guests, and I wouldn't have thought Yubaba would let you leave mid-shift to walk around the town."

"Well, about a year after you left, another bathhouse opened up in the area. Whoever runs it would send spies over here to mess with the employees. They promised to get you out of the contract with Yubaba and even pay you more than she does. A lot of people signed off on it. We've lost a lot of people. When the workforce over here started dwindling, the service wasn't as great. The other bathhouse started offering better packages at lower prices and stole all of customers, too. Actually, I've been thinking about heading over there myself. There's got to be some catch though."

"So Yubaba's loosened the reins on everyone?"

"Only when we don't have any customers to take care of. Today was just a cleaning day, I suppose," Lin said as she began to twiddle her thumbs.

"What about Haku? What does he do when he's not here?"

"Not a clue about that either. Really, you look a lot different, but your priorities are exactly the same. Haku this, Haku that. He doesn't really talk a lot when he comes to visit, so I couldn't tell you anything. You'll have to ask him next time he's here."

"If I'm still here, that is," I muttered under my breath.

"Sen, are you planning on going back so soon?"

"Not really, but you never know... And, Lin, I want you to know my real name, to call me by my real name. It's Chihiro."

"Alright, Chihiro," she said smiling. "Let's head back, so you can talk to Yubaba."

"Okay. I wish I didn't have to talk to her though."

"It's her bathhouse," Lin reminded me as we headed back.

Inside, Lin walked with me to the elevator and headed back to work. I took a deep breath as I pulled the lever to take me to the very top floor where Yubaba lived. The elevator ride seemed to take forever, and when it finally ended I breathed a sigh of relief.

I walked down the hallway to the door with the golden knocker, took a deep breath, and knocked.

"Come in, Chihiro," Yubaba's voice echoed like a loud speaker.

The door swung open, and I headed towards her office, only vaguely remembering where to turn. When I approached her office's doors, they swung open as well, and I walked into the dark room. The only light came from the fireplace, and Yubaba was seated at her desk working away, just like the first time I'd been there.

Her large head was bent over her desk, and though I couldn't see them, I remember her huge eyes as well. Everything about Yubaba was bigger than normal. It made me wonder what sort of spirit she was.

"And what are you doing back here?" She asked rudely after a moment, moving her head slightly so that her white bun of hair wobbled a bit.

"I'm not really sure, ma'am. I just ended up here somehow."

"Just ended up here somehow?" She repeated. "That's highly unlikely."

"It may not sound plausible, but it's the truth," I snapped. Yubaba put down her pen and jerked her head up at me. It took all I had in me not to flinch.

"You've grown some backbone since you were here last, haven't you? In any case, I don't have time to listen to whatever request you have this time. If you wish to work then go get to it, but I can't afford to pay you. This business isn't running as smoothly as it once did, but I'm sure you've already noticed that. Competition in the area! Something I would have never dreamed of having to put up with, but I suppose anything is possible. Well, then, go, girl! I don't have time for you."

Yubaba was getting angry with me for no apparent reason. She must have been really stressed out. Lin was stressed out, everybody here was stressed out. They didn't show it, but they all were worried about the future of this place. The more I stood there watching Yubaba ignore me and work, the more I thought that maybe I'd been sent here to help them somehow. Just like last time, I was meant to free Haku. This time, I was meant to save this bathhouse.

"Why are you still here?" Yubaba demanded, even angrier than before.

"I've got a proposition for you, if you're willing to listen, Yubaba."

"I've already told you that I cannot pay you!"

"I don't want your money, but I can help you get your customers back." Yubaba looked up from her paperwork and gave me her attention. "I can work in the other bathhouse as your spy."

To my surprise, Yubaba laughed. "Do you really think they will hire a human girl to work for them and not think of it as suspicious?" She laughed even harder. "That's the best joke I've heard in years."

"If I eat enough Spirit food, I won't smell like a human. And you can help me come up with a story that they will buy. It won't be hard, I think. I can sneak out occasionally to come report or send you word from there somehow of the things I find out. Getting in will be easy enough if we just get the right story, and I stick to it."

"If you have that much confidence, I don't see what it would hurt. But what exactly do you want in return?"

I thought about it for a moment and couldn't think of anything. "I don't know yet, but I'll let you know. It'll be something appropriate to the amount of information I give you though."

"Fine. Take your time thinking. You can go now. Come back here in three weeks, and we'll figure everything out when I return. Then we'll send you over."

"Thank you," I said pathetically before leaving her office.

"Guess I'll visit with Lin some more, and maybe go see Kamaji," I muttered as I stepped back onto the elevator to head back down stairs. "Kamaji! That's it! Maybe he knows where Haku is!"

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**(A/N: I have so much on my mind right now! I really hope you're enjoying! Like FanFictioner001: Stay Tuned!)**


	3. Chapter 3

**(A/N: Three chapters? I really hope you guys are reading this. I'm posting three chapters. Maybe four. I'm really bored!) **

**_"Promise"_**

_By: FanFictioner002_

* * *

_Chapter 3_

"Kamaji!" I yelled as I opened the sliding door that Lin used to bring him food every day.

"Mmm," he groaned as he turned to see who it was. "Who are you? What do you want? I'm busy down here!"

"Kamaji, it's Sen. Do you remember me?"

The six-armed boiler man turned towards me and leaned in closer to look at my face. He studied me for a moment before sitting back up straight again.

"Ahh, yes. I remember you. It's good to see you again."

"By the way, my real name is Chihiro."

"Yes, I already knew that," he stated and glanced down at my clothes. "What are you doing back here? You aren't working here again, are you? That's not a good idea. If you need the money, there are several places that pay higher. The customers aren't coming here like they did before."

"I know. Lin told me all about the other bathhouse opening nearby, and all the trouble it's caused. Yubaba seems pretty stressed about it, too."

"You've been to see Yubaba then?"

"That's where I'm coming from actually."

"I see," Kamaji said thoughtfully.

"Kamaji," I started. "I was sort of wondering if you knew anything about Haku."

"Love doesn't fade easily after all... Well, after you left, Haku went back to the Imperial City to see what would become of him."

"And what did become of him?" I asked hesitantly. Even though I knew he came to visit, I still worried that he might be in some sort of predicament.

"Oh, well, I assume they simply sorted out his status. I've heard that he found his river."

"That can't be. His river was filled in years ago."

"Well, if his river didn't exist anymore, child, neither would he. His river's waters still run somewhere. He just has to find them. Although, there might be some dispute if his waters merged with another river gods' waters."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, if two river gods' rivers merge, they either have to give up their hold on their waters or forcefully take control of the other god's portion of the river."

"Forcefully take control of the other's waters?" I gulped. Kamaji nodded, and my heart sank. "Basically, you mean a fight to the death, right?"

"I suppose you could put it that way. They wouldn't truly be fighting to the death however. But, the loss of their waters would result in a sort of death, yes."

"And, if he wins?"

"Then, he will return to his new river as the god of its conjoined waters."

"Oh," I said quietly. "But what about if he chose to give them up?"

"Giving up is the same as losing. A god cannot be a god of nothing, Chihiro."

"So," I whispered as I looked up at him. "Does that mean that I will never see him again? Either he'll be tied to his river or he..."

"I never said that at all." Kamaji reached down with one of his many arms and wiped away my tears. "Everything will fall into place when the time comes."

"Kamaji," I said after I'd regained myself. "I need to ask you another favor. Can you teach me more about this world?"

Apparently, the spirit world had different types of spirits. Gods like Haku controlled a variety of things. There were nature gods, emotion gods, fate gods, and life and death gods. Then, there were witches like Yubaba, who are spirits with powers similar to that of the gods but usually not nearly as strong.

There were also noble spirits, the bathhouse's usual guests, that were born into this world as descendants of gods themselves and humble spirits, or humanoids, like Lin and the other bathhouse workers that were once passing shadows but chose to live within this world for the rest of eternity. They can take the appearance they had in their human lives but usually change to reflect their personality more.

Lastly, there were the shadows, or spirits who also used to be human. Humans who completed their life fully jump back into the cycle and are reborn while humans who died an untimely or unexpected death come here as shadows, black creatures that litter the streets in most towns. Each shadow stays in the spirit world until they feel okay with death. They live their lives exactly as they did before and refuse to believe that they could have died.

Kamaji wouldn't tell me anything else other than that for the moment. It was getting close to bedtime already, so he sent me on my way after explaining as much as he had.

"There you are!" Lin's voice sounded from above as the elevator speeded downwards. It came to shaky halt when it reached the floor I was on, the lowest floor that elevator could reach.

"Just visiting with Kamaji for a while," I told her as I entered the elevator with her, and we headed back up.

"Well, it's time to get some sleep. A large group of customers came in not long ago. There will actually be work tomorrow, so we have to get some rest. Well, I have to get some rest because they're in my tubs tomorrow. Feel free to help out if you want."

"Well, I have nothing better to do. Got room for me in your quarters?"

"Tons of room, but a couple of the girls have been sickly. You don't want to stay in there. I'll take you back to the one you were in before. You'll have some privacy so no complaints."

"Okay, but what about you?"

"Me? I don't get sick. I'm tough," Lin said as she showed off her nonexistent muscles, and we both starting laughing. "No, really, I don't catch colds. I never have."

"Alright then," I managed to squeeze between my giggles. "What was that room before now anyway? A spare closet or something? It's kind of small, I mean. Not that I'm complaining. It's a place to sleep."

"No, it's always been a bedroom," she shrugged. "Right down this hall. You can find it from here, can't you?"

I nodded and stepped off the elevator, waving bye as she headed back down a couple of floors. The hallway was dark and quiet. I wondered if I was the only person on the entire floor for it to be like this. Or did everyone go to bed already?

I tiptoed down the hall trying not to be loud just in case and slowly slid the door open to step inside. Clouds moved in the sky above, and the moon's light shined through the room. Something moved inside the room, and I squealed a little. It would have been a full blown scream if a hand hadn't covered my mouth.

"What are you doing up here?" A harsh voice asked. "Yubaba made it clear that this was still my territory."

The cruel whisper chilled me to the bones, and the hand moved from over my mouth to let me answer. But I couldn't say anything. I was too terrified.

The voice gasped, and the atmosphere of the room changed completely. After a moment, I gathered the courage to look at the person beside me. His big emerald eyes blinked in surprise as I studied his face.

"It's you..." We said at the same time.

"Nigihayami Kohaku Nushi," I whispered.

"Ogino Chihiro," he said back, in a much more friendly tone.

He stepped back, and we just looked at each other. There wasn't really much else we could do. We'd both changed, and we had to adjust to seeing each other after so long.

His dark, forest green hair had grown much longer, and it was tied back with only a couple of strands of his bangs escaping. He wore an emerald green kimono that matched his eyes perfectly, and he'd grown to be quite a few inches taller than me.

He looked around 21. Had he looked that much older than me eight years ago? I could have remembered had I not seen him now after all this time. The image of the old Haku was completely gone. This wasn't Haku. It was Nigihayami Kohaku Nushi. Haku was only who he had been when Yubaba had taken his name. But his true name was a mouthful, and Haku no longer suitied him. Instead, I decided quickly to call him by the name of his river.

I wondered what he was doing here. Had Lin known he would be here? Or were his visits spontaneous? Was this his room that I had slept in? Was that his mat, his blanket, his pillow? Thoughts ran through my mind wildly, but there was one thing I wanted to say to him, to ask him more than anything else.

"Why?" I whispered.

He seemed to know what I meant and looked away with shame across his face.

"Why would you promise me that I'd see you again if you just planned to erase my memory like that? Why?"

He was quiet for a long time, and it was obvious that he had regretted it. In the silence, I tried to imagine what my life would have been like had I remembered him. Up until when Ami first moved from Tokyo during high school, I hadn't had any friends. I probably would have come looking for the Spirit World again, but there was only a small chance that I'd have found it.

I doubt I would have left it and returned home then. Things were difficult during those years, especially at home. It would have been even worse had I insisted that my best friend was a dragon boy. To an extent, I could understand why he did it, but I still think he shouldn't have made that promise.

"I had to protect you," he said finally. "I had to make you leave this place, no matter what I had to tell you or what I had to promise."

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**(A/N: Enjoy much? I'm a really fasty typer. So better watch out! And I'm bored. So, again like FanFictioner001: Stay Tuned!)**


	4. Chapter 4

**(A/N: You could tell I'm bored by seeing how many chapters I posted. Enjoy!) **

**_"Promise"_**

_By: FanFictioner002_

* * *

_Chapter 4_

I woke up the next morning in his room, sleeping on his mats once again. I sat up straight and thought about the previous night. When had I fallen asleep? I couldn't remember.

Suddenly I remembered him leaving after refusing to tell me what exactly he had to protect me from. He'd left, and I had slid to the floor and just sat there. I didn't climb under his blankets and go to sleep.

Something moved behind me, and I turned to see Kohaku sitting across the room, propped up against the wall, asleep. I smiled to myself as I thought about him putting me to bed last night. After forcing myself to my feet, I folded everything except the blanket which I took over to him and gently wrapped around him before leaving to go find Lin. I'd promised to help her today with the customers.

On the way to Lin's tub, I grabbed some rice balls that I didn't have time to eat. Just as I turned around the corner to see Lin speaking to a large octopus-like spirit, I shoved the last rice ball in my mouth and gulped it down quickly.

"Chihiro!" Lin said as she walked away from the customer. "I'm going to get some food for our customer. Please attend to him until I return."

I nodded and smiled slightly. She sounded so professional that it would have made me laugh any other time. For some reason, professional Lin didn't seem natural at all.

I walked up to the noble and bowed my head. "Good morning, sir. My name is Chihiro, and I'd be honored to assist you," I repeated the same thing I'd heard the other bathhouse workers say before.

"I am Hideharu," the octopus said in a deep, frightening voice, and he leaned in closer to me with a scrutinizing look on his face. In a way, it reminded me of the way Kamaji had looked at me. Then, he lowered his voice to a whisper "How much do you earn here?"

"My apologies, sir, but I'm not sure that's relevant..."

"The other one said the same thing," he growled. "That just means that you don't make much at all, you know. There's somewhere else you can work."

"You mean the other bathhouse?"

"Yes, my bathhouse in the better part of town. Honestly, I don't see why someone would put a business here with the shadows polluting the place. It's also quite ridiculous to have them ride a boat over as well."

I just stared at him for a while, confused and wondering what was taking Lin so long.

"You seem competent enough. Why don't you work for me?" He asked after a while.

"Sir, I - I would like to work for you, actually. How would I go about doing that?" He seemed startled at my blunt acceptance, but it seemed like the perfect opportunity to me. I was going to have to find my way in anyway. Why not accept the owner's offer?

"Really? Well, you would have to wait until Yubaba returns. I've heard she left town for a while."

"Yes, sir. That's true."

"When she returns, just quit. It's simpler now that she doesn't use those contracts anymore."

"So I just come over and ask to speak with you, sir?" He nodded, and I decided to make it seem like I was more interested in the money than anything. "How much will I make?"

"Three times what you earn here," he told me before Lin came hustling around the corner with his meal. Lin had me leave, saying that I'd done enough to help her and could return to my normal duties. Basically, I could go and do whatever. I wasn't sure what I could do, so I ended up going to see Kamaji for a little while.

When I reached the boiler room, Kamaji was working away like he did before. Using his long arms that could extend as far as he needed them to go, he grabbed various herbs from the drawers that covered the walls of the room and mixed them together for different bath water.

"Hello, Kamaji," I said as two bath tokens dropped in front of him. It wasn't surprising though. The bathhouse had seemed as busy as it was back when I was younger. New customers were coming in often, though not quite enough to say that things were as hectic as they used to be.

Kamaji grunted in response before returning to his work. Clearly, he was a bit busy, so I just sat down out of the way and watched him work until Lin brought lunch down. She'd brought candy for the soot workers and three of today's specials for Kamaji, herself, and me.

Over lunch, I told them about Hideharu and the plans I'd made with Yubaba. They didn't like the idea of me waltzing into enemy territory like that and argued against it. Well, it was mostly Lin arguing. Kamaji would throw in his two cents every once in a while, too. No matter what they said, I told them that I was doing it anyway. I just didn't tell them why, but that's only because I didn't quite know the answer to that myself.

After Lin and Kamaji returned to work, I mustered up the confidence to go look for Kohaku and talk to him. In the end, I'd have to tell him about what all was going on anyway. If I avoided it, it'd probably be a lot worse. Besides, he'd definitely figure it out by talking to Lin.

I was pretty sure he wouldn't still be in his room because I couldn't imagine him sleeping that long. It just didn't seem like something he would do. And I was right.

I spent a while searching randomly around the bathhouse, both inside and out. He was nowhere to be found.

Until I went out to the field of flowers just below the pig pens, anyway. He was sitting at the edge of the field looking out over the sea, and he looked like he was so deep in thought that he might drown in it.

I thought he'd notice me after a while, so I just stood there and breathed in the aroma of the strange pink and red flowers around me. The wind blew from behind me, and flower petals leaped onto the wind and rode it away. My pony tail tried to follow, but it didn't get far.

Kohaku turned his head towards me. His eyes looked vulnerable for once, and I knew I'd caught him off guard. He wasn't expecting me to find him, I guess.

"Hey," I said after a few minutes of silence had passed. It was stupid, but it was something to say. He stood up in response and offered me his hand.

"Come on," he whispered, and I gently lay my hand in his. I trusted him more than I did anyone else.

"Where are we going?"

"I'm taking you home, Chihiro. You don't belong here." Immediately, I jerked my hand back away from him.

"You can't decide that!" I screamed at him, tears swelling my eyes. Was he not glad to see me like I was to see him? It hurt my feelings to think that, but I couldn't shake the feeling that he didn't want me around or that I'd gotten in his way by coming back.

"It's not a decision," he said as he took a step forward and grasped my wrist loosely. I looked down away from his face. I didn't want to look into his eyes when they held so much anger. "Humans live in the human world like spirits live in the spirit world. That's how things are! Even eating our food, if you stay here, you'll just..."

His voice trailed off, and I felt his gaze trail away from me. "I'll just... just, what?" I asked silently, unsure whether I really wanted to know or if it wasn't as bad as he was making it out to be.

"I'll be blunt about this. If you stay, you will die."

His words shocked my body into a temporary paralysis, and he took advantage of that and began pulling me along behind him. I wasn't going to let him lead me along like I was blind though. After a few steps, I regained myself enough to stop walking behind him and pulled my hand from him once again.

"I don't care," I told him, my voice empty of all emotion except surprise. I surprised myself with utter disregard for my own life. "I don't care..."

"How can you stand there and tell me that you don't care whether you live or die? Can you honestly tell me that you'd rather die trying to stay here with me than go back home to your family? You're lying to yourself if you can, Chihiro."

"I'm not lying to myself, and I'm not lying to you either! If anyone's lying, then it's you." Kohaku chuckled at me. He actually chuckled at me... "What?" I demanded.

"Tell me what you think I've been lying about." He seemed so amused that I thought he'd lied to me, but I didn't think that.

"I don't know, but I can see it. I guess it's something you've only thought about, something you never said out loud." He looked shock and taken aback. My words must have struck a chord somewhere in him. "But, if I had to pick something that you lied to me about, I guess it'd be when you told me that I'd see you again."

"You did see me again."

"You didn't plan on that though. You meant it as a lie, and that's what I'll count it as, a lie."

_Maybe I mentally backhanded him without realizing it_, I thought before turning to leave him with his newfound thoughts.

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**(A/N: Enjoy much? Where's the reviews?)**


	5. Chapter 5

**(A/N: Yay! Got one favorite! Thank you! Now continue.) **

**_"Promise"_**

_By: FanFictioner002_

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_Chapter 5_

When I looked in the mirror, I couldn't help but be angry with myself. I felt horrible about what I'd said to Kohaku, and I spent days on end trying to fix things. I'd stroll around all day until I finally found him wherever he was (it was a different place every day), and I'd try to apologize. He didn't give me more than three seconds before he got up and flew off into the distance as a magnificent silvery-white dragon, leaving me stunned at his beauty every time.

Honestly though, I was starting to wonder why he was even sticking around the bathhouse for this long if he was this mad at me. Was he that adamant about me going home? Not once in my apologies had I mentioned that I'd been wrong or he'd been right. I knew I was right, like I usually was. Perhaps, Kohaku was waiting for me to say, "Okay, send me home now."

Hate to break it to him, but that wasn't happening.

It wasn't that I didn't love my family, friends, and home, but this wonderful world was too magical for me to just leave it behind, not knowing if I'd ever see it again. It hurt to leave my old life behind, but I'd decided that I wasn't returning the moment I saw Kohaku's peaceful, sleeping face. How could I ever leave him?

I couldn't. It was as simple as that. Everyone else would be fine without me back home, but I felt like he was the one person who actually needed me. Or, maybe he was the one person that I needed. I was a little mixed up on that issue.

I sighed as the elevator came to a stop. I hadn't been able to find him anywhere, so I was resorting to looking in his room that I hadn't been back to since last time I'd slept there. Since I was so sure he wouldn't be there, I wrote a note and brought it along. He'd definitely see it if I lay it on his pillow. Maybe he wasn't too angry to not read it.

But, sure enough, the one time I didn't want to find him was the only time I would. He stood in the middle of the room, facing away from me with his head tilted in the direction of the door I'd slid open.

Oh, and did I mention the half-naked part? No, I know I didn't mention that yet. I flushed a bright red and looked away at the sight of his unclothed back.

"S-sorry," I mumbled before turning to leave and miserably tripping over my own feet. I was too embarrassed by my clumsiness to even get back up, so I didn't move an inch, didn't breath, and did my best to pretend that I didn't exist. That didn't go over so well though. Kohaku's hand slid under my forearm and pulled me to my feet.

"I'm decent enough for you to look at me," he said with amusement clearly in his voice.

"I disagree," I murmured when I'd mistakenly glanced back at him and his perfect chest that had obviously been chiseled in great detail by angels, very talented angels, whom I imagined to be quite excellent at the harp and perhaps archery as well.

"Chihiro," he whispered by my ear. I looked all around, everywhere, anywhere except towards him.

I tried to pull away from him, but his grip on my arm was too strong. So I looked into his eyes again to get him to let me go. Bad idea... Of course, even I should have seen that one coming.

Finally, after what seemed like forever of being smoldered to nothing but ash, his grip lessened, and I made my escape.

When I got back onto the elevator again, I realized how fast my heart had been beating. It was like someone beating on drums as fast as they could, as if their life depended on it, and I thought that surely it would beat itself to death. As embarrassed as I was, I didn't have too much of a problem with that.

"Hey!" Lin's voice rang out as I got off the elevator, and she ran up to me flailing one arm in the air. "Yubaba's asking for you. She came back earlier than she was supposed to."

I sighed and started to walk alongside Lin towards one of the guest elevators, the only one to go all the way to the top floor.

"You know, it's a good thing you started staying in our room with us. I just found out that Haku has been here for almost a week already. You were asking about him. He's probably in his room. He tends to stay there. Although he usually has the decency to speak to me at least..." Lin said nonchalantly. Trust me, I thought. I definitely know that he's here.

"That's what I'll do while you're with Yubaba then. I'm going straight up there and kicking his butt for not speaking to us!" Lin exclaimed as she trudged in the direction we'd come from with goal, and I felt sorry for Kohaku. Lin could be very loud and annoying if you stepped on her toes. I wouldn't know from personal experience, but I've seen her angry before.

I spent the elevator rides imagining what Lin would say to him and caught myself laughing at my made up conversation at one point before forcing myself into a more serious mood.

Entering Yubaba's office, I could clearly see that she wasn't alone. Her twin, and much nicer, sister Zeniba was there as well. Why else would there be two of them? But I was more surprised that Kohaku was there, standing in front of Yubaba's desk.

When I walked in, the attention turned directly to me. Yubaba looked at me with as much anger as Kohaku was looking at her with while Zeniba more or less just stood in the background. She looked between Kohaku and her sister with a worried look, probably afraid that something might happen. I could definitely see why she might think something like that. Looking at them myself made me sort of afraid of what might happen.

"Chihiro," Yubaba said, and Kohaku turned to look at me. His anger melted away when our eyes met, and I flushed red and looked away from him to Yubaba. "There you are. So, I have the story all planned out, and you can head over to the other bathhouse sometime today."

"I told you that she wasn't going!" Kohaku growled at her. His anger had returned again. "You can't send her to do your dirty work!"

"And I told you earlier that I didn't tell her to do anything, boy. The girl requested to do this for me."

Kohaku looked at me and then back at Yubaba. He didn't believe her at all. "It's true," I said. "I want to go."

"Why? What has she done for you?" Kohaku asked me blankly, no anger in his voice or expression, but his fists were clenched tightly.

"I don't help people because I owe them. I help because I can."

He furrowed his brow and took a few steps closer to me. He took me by the arm before turning back to Yubaba. "She's not going."

Suddenly we weren't in her office any more. Kohaku pulled me down the hallways and towards an open window. I gasped in surprise when he pulled me into his arms and jumped. I wasn't scared of falling to my death though. I knew he wouldn't let something like that happen to me. Instead, we floated gently down to the sea behind the bathhouse.

Kohaku's feet rested on the surface of the still water as if it were solid ground. I leaned over a little, trying to get a better look to see if he was really standing on the water, and I jumped again when he laughed at me. I looked at him dumbfounded. He was totally different now.

He started walking across the liquid's surface before quickening to a run and finally leaping into the air. Slinging me around on his back, he quickly transformed into the dragon that had been avoiding me all week, and we flew through the bright, blue sky in a serene silence.

My grip tightened around the two horns on his head, and I lay my head down on top of his and closed my eyes, just enjoying the wind until we landed on a small forest path. Kohaku changed back into his human form and pulled me along the trail without saying a word. I wanted to ask where we were going, but something told me that he wouldn't answer that. And I was sure he wasn't sending me home. He seemed to be over that argument entirely.

After at least a few hours of walking, my feet felt like there were going to fall off, and I would have had to leave them behind because Kohaku wasn't slowing his pace at all. If it were this far away, why hadn't he flown us all the way there?

"This place is a magical place. It weakens me," he explained as if he could hear my thoughts.

"Why are we coming out here?"

"You'll understand once we get there. I'll tell you everything."

When he said "everything," it felt like he meant a whole lot more than just what this place was or why we were visiting it. It felt like he meant everything, and that scared me a little bit. "Everything" was a much too general word.

The road to somewhere didn't end for miles, and it was almost dark when we arrived at a small pond beside tiny little shrine where incense burned faintly. A girl with long white hair sat at the edge of the pond, and her head turned quickly at the sound of our approaching footsteps.

"Kohaku, I was wondering when I'd see you again," she said with smile and her blue eyes seemed to move. Tiny silver specks flowed around in her irises, and it reminded me of cytoplasmic streaming. I remembered learning about that in Biology in high school. Then, her eyes moved to me, and she stood. "Who's this?"

"Chihiro," he told her as she appraised me with a judgmental eye and moved closer to us. "Chihiro, this is Gin. She is the goddess here."

She looked down at me, and I choked back all the laughter that clumped up in my throat, fighting to come out. Gin wasn't just taller than me, but she was at least a head taller than Kohaku. She could easily be described as enormous, which is ironic compared to her midget pond.

Her eyes travelled down my entirety before shooting back up angrily to my face. She'd just noticed our loosely tangled fingers. Gin glared at me, and the specks in her eyes spun around her pupils faster than before. Kohaku grabbed my hand and pulled me back just enough to get in between the angry goddess and me.

"Kohaku," Gin whispered. "How could you choose this pitiful human girl over one of your own kind?"

He leaned forward and whispered in her ear before pulling me past her frozen form. Looking back at her, I wondered what he had said, but I highly doubted he'd tell me if I asked. Gin eventually ran away towards the path we'd come from before.

We stopped in front of the small shrine, one that I imagined to be for Gin since it was her pond. Kohaku bowed before it, and I copied him.

"Help me, please," he said, reaching for one of the two sticks of incense in a silver bowl, and I took the other. Small strips of smoke floated from the glowing tips of the incense Kohaku held in his hand, but mine wasn't on fire.

I looked toward him and back to our hands when I felt mine move over. He touched the tips of the incense together, and a bright flame ignited. We placed them back in the bowl at the same time and turned away from the little shrine.

"That's part of what we came for," Kohaku said as we sat on a stone bench beside the pond. "Now, if you still want to, you may go work at the other bathhouse for Yubaba. I won't argue with it as long as you agree to my one condition. You are to meet with me at least once a week. I'll also deliver any news you have for Yubaba."

"I can agree to that," I said with a smile of victory. I felt like I'd won. I looked around the quaint blue lake and watched the small fish flop up out of the water and fall back down, surprised that the water ended there. Weeds of some sort floated in the water's edge and some sprouted ugly blossoms. Under the nasty weeds, tiny tadpoles jerked around, stirring up the mud on the pond's bottom.

Kohaku startled me when he pulled me closer to the water, and we knelt down. He cupped his hands together, dipped them in the ponds dirty water, and brought them to my lips. The water wasn't dirty in his hands, and I drank when he told me that I should. Then, he took my hands in his and did the same. Kohaku closed his eyes as he laid his lips against my skin gently and drank the magically pure water.

I was utterly confused. I didn't know what was going on, or anything. Then I remembered what he'd said as we walked before. "What were you going to tell me? You said something about telling me everything."

"Are you two done here?" Gin's voice spat at us, and I turned to see her with her arms crossed. Her eyes were puffy red, and it made me really curious about what he'd said to make her cry that much. "Well?"

"Yes, thank you," Kohaku said, and soon we were walking silently down that path again.

"Kohaku," I said after a few minutes of walking.

"I will have to tell you about it later," he sighed. "It can wait for now."

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**(A/N: Please! Review! Again.. like fanfictioner001: stay tuned!)**


	6. Chapter 6

**(A/N: Enjoy much? I got an review and something jerked me up. Hope you enjoy!) **

**_"Promise" _**

_By: FanFictioner002_

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_Chapter 6_

I stepped off the boat and looked back towards the other side of the river where the bathhouse stood in the distance. As I looked at the small green bracelet on my left wrist, I remembered what Kohaku had said before I left.

"Chihiro," he had said, taking my hand in his. "If you ever need me, just close your eyes and think of me. I'll hear you as long as you wear this."

That was when he'd slipped the bracelet over my hand and swiped his lips across mine for just a brief second. He'd disappeared before I could even open my eyes. I wanted to see him again. Next Saturday, the day I was supposed to sneak out and meet Kohaku in the field, just couldn't come soon enough.

Suddenly, I noticed a few spirits looking at me strangely. I'd been standing there for too long, so I started up the stairs that looked exactly like the ones on the opposite side of the water. There was a huge difference at the top of the steps though. There were humbles everywhere, but I didn't see any of the shadows that I was used to seeing around Yubaba's bathhouse.

Like the other side, food vendors and restaurants littered the streets. Food really seemed to be the only think the spirits seemed to enjoy. In my opinion, an amusement park or water park would be really fun, and I chuckled a little as I imagined what Kohaku would think about them.

I took a deep breath and straightened out the wrinkled side of a casual kimono I'd borrowed from one of Lin's friends. It was about time I figured out where I needed to be going, so I resolved to ask someone for a little help.

"Excuse me," I said to a cat-like woman nearby. She turned to me, juggling several cat-dog hybrid kids in her arms.

"What is it?" She said harshly.

"I was just wondering where the bathhouse was?"

"Find it yourself! I've got enough to worry about." The cat-lady turned and walked away quickly, and I was surprised that most of the people I tried to speak to were equally rude. I was just about to give up when a large hand touched my shoulder, and I turned around to see the radish spirit from eight years ago. At least, I assumed it was the same noble. His eyes glowed with kindness as he seemed to recognize me, and I decided to give it one more try.

"Can you tell me where to find the bathhouse?" I asked nicely, hoping that I'd finally found someone to help me.

The radish spirit made a grunting noise and turned to walk away. At first I thought he was being rude as well but realized he was showing me the way when he stopped and turned back to look at me. I hurried to catch up and stay with him as he led me through crowded streets and empty alleys. It honestly looked like he had no clue where he was going, but I followed behind him silently anyway. Surely, he wouldn't try to help me if he didn't know.

We passed restaurant after restaurant, and every single one was packed full of spirits stuffing their faces. It made me sick watching them eat that much. While I wasn't paying attention, the radish spirit stopped in front of me, and I didn't notice until I walked into his back. He looked back at me, grunted, and point ahead of him before walking into the bathhouse that stood in front of me. They greeted him as their guest as he entered.

I stood back for a moment and watched the spirits flood into the building, which looked pretty new. I noticed the workers hanging from the black roof and realized that it was probably the fresh coat of bright yellow paint they were applying. It was a really tacky color, but I guess it drew in enough attention.

Approaching the entrance, the greeters bowed to me gracefully, and I immediately announced that I had come to speak with Hideharu.

"Miss Chihiro?" The shorter, fluffy girl asked in a high-pitched voice.

I nodded, and the other woman asked me to follow her. Inside, I was reminded of how Yubaba's bathhouse was. It was exactly like hers used to be when I worked there before, but there were far more spirits here and more workers, too.

The woman, who'd introduced herself as Miyo, led me onto the nearest elevator that took us up several floors. It was a lot like when Lin first took me to see Yubaba. Miyo and I switched elevators a few times before we finally reached the top floor.

"Good luck," Miyo said as she opened a door for me and shoved me inside. "Miss Chihiro is here, sir."

Hideharu stood across a large office area looking out a long row of windows. I stepped towards the middle of the room and tried to think of what I should say or if I should wait for him to speak. The octopus creature didn't move an inch for a long time, and I started to wonder if he'd heard Miyo when she'd spoken to him.

After a moment, he finally turned to me and slid his way across the floor awkwardly. Stopping in front of me, Hideharu lifted a tentacle and touched my slightly glowing bracelet thoughtfully. At first, I feared he would assume that I was a spy, but he never said anything about that. He turned away again and slipped over to a large desk where there was no chair. I guess he didn't need one. Octopi can't sit down anyway.

"You've come early," he announced accusingly as he flopped things around his desk.

"Yubaba returned sooner than expected, sir."

He seemed to accept that reason and continued knock things in every direction. He found a piece of paper and looked at it, obviously pleased with himself. I stared at the sheet of paper that lay in front of him. I thought there were no contracts here. I'm not signing one. That would be stupid.

"You will be with Miyo, greeting our guests. The other girl down there is about to be let go."

I simply nodded. When he jiggled his way back to stare out the window, which I noticed had a clear view of Yubaba's bathhouse, I dismissed myself, surprised that he hadn't questioned anything about me.

Miyo waited just outside the door and turned leading me away instantly. "I'll take you to acquire more proper attire. By the time we return to our duties at the door, the other greeter will have been informed of her dismissal. I think she's seen it coming. Every time a new person comes, someone is let go. Master Hideharu doesn't want too many workers, and he wants only the best. The lazy, incapable ones are dismissed when new help comes to take their place."

Miyo showed me the employee quarters and gave me a bright, blindingly pink kimono to wear. It looked exactly like hers and the other girl's. Then she pulled my hair up into a neat bun and painted my face with make-up. The whole time she explained the importance of presentability and told me that appearances attracted customers. As she stroked lines of bold red across my lips, I couldn't help but think that "sex sells."

At first, I thought working the entrance and greeting people would be the easiest job in the world. But the looks and comments I received made it anything but easy. Keeping a smile on my face, bowing to them all politely, and calling them "master" or "milady" as instructed by Miyo. It was the most difficult task I'd ever had. It was worse than scrubbing tubs and floors. I found myself wishing for a stink spirit to come along and scare them all away for a few days.

Miyo seemed to be enjoying the inappropriate attention though, and I quickly realized that she and I were opposites to the extreme. I found myself almost hating her for being okay with her job. I could definitely see why she wasn't the one who'd been fired. The men loved her, and the women admired her. The men just looked at me like I was a toy, and the women looked at me with disgust, probably wondering where my pride had run off to. Well, I was wondering the same thing. That, and why I had agreed to help like this in the first place. I felt like I should then, but now it all seemed ridiculous. The reason they were doing better than Yubaba could be summed up in four words: location and sex appeal. One day was all I needed to realize that I was ready to go back.

That night I couldn't sleep with the giggling voices around me. My roommates were taking bets on whether Miyo was coming in that night or if she'd be gone again. It wasn't difficult to realize what they meant, but I decided to block them out the best I could. When I finally fell into a restless sleep, my night was plagued with terrible dreams that I couldn't remember when I woke, and something about them worried me. _Kohaku... Please be okay._

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**(A/N: Nobody is enjoying. Is my story good? Please leave reviews, PLEASE!)**


	7. Chapter 7

**(A/N: TBH is that I actually wrote alot of chapters today. Feeling stressed and bored!) **

**_"Promise" _**

_By: FanFictioner002_

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_Chapter 7_

Working for Yubaba eight years ago may have been difficult work, but at least it was never boring. Greeting people - you probably think that's the easiest job in the world… At first, it seemed like it. But some spirits are rude, some are entirely hateful, and none of them are nice. But Miyo and I have to keep smiling… All day long.

To be honest, I missed scrubbing tubs. Although it seems like it'd be twice as bad at this bathhouse when you have about two minutes to get them clean. That's what Miyo told me anyway.

Standing in front of the busy bathhouse was noisy, and I didn't hear one of the girls behind me yelling my name until she was right on top of me. "Hey! Shift change!" She screamed before Miyo headed inside, and I followed her bobbing black ponytail closely. Some of the spirits here were very creepy looking. Only Miyo and the others in our room looked human that I'd noticed. The other spirits were frog spirits, lizard spirits, or bug spirits, but I wasn't too sure about most of them. I could never get a good look at the others.

Sighing deeply, I followed Miyo down an employee hallway. In the corner of my eye, I glimpsed the chubby girl whose place I took. But wasn't she fired? The girl jumped when she saw Miyo and ran over quickly. She grabbed Miyo's arm, but Miyo shoved her away with a disgusting look on her face. The girl bent over on the ground and cried right at my feet. So I sighed deeply again. I was too nice.

"What's wrong?" I asked smiling down at her.

She spoke through sniffles, "I've been - been called down to meet with the boss. I'm afraid to go alone. People who meet with him down under the boiler room never come back up. I thought if Miyo came with me that I would be okay. Master Hideharu likes Miyo…"

I looked up, but Miyo had left me behind. I hadn't expected her to wait for me, but it still bothered me. Looking into this girl's eyes, I found myself saying, "I'll go with you."

"Real - really? Thank you so much!" She said as she grasped my hand tightly and pulled me towards an elevator.

The girl trembled the whole way down the elevator and never spoke. I didn't know what to say but assure her that the others that had come down here probably just left and that the worst, her being fired, was already over. Apparently, I wasn't very convincing.

The elevator stopped with a clunk, and I let her lead me to the next one. It couldn't be too much farther down. We were already so far that there wasn't a soul in sight. The mechanical chinks and dings of the elevators echoed, and I could hear water steadily dripping somewhere in the room but couldn't see anything wet.

I could tell the next elevator hadn't been used often. It started moving with a loud scratching noise, and rust fell at our feet. Now, I was suspicious.

Shivers spiraled down my spine as the elevator screeched to a stop. The girl didn't move. She looked at me out of the corner of her eye and made a pitiful squeaking noise. Gulping, I stepped forward. There was a large metal door at the end of a long hallway. Silence filled the hallway.

"I'm sorry," I said, clenching my fists tightly. "You're on your own from here. But there's nothing to worry about. You'll be fine."

She saw right through me. She saw that I was afraid, too. But she didn't say anything. She inched forward slowly. Her trembling worsened as she placed her hand on the door handle and turned it. It squealed open, and she stepped inside. The door closed behind her.

Then I turned to leave, barely making myself move. I'd gotten so worked up over nothing. So it was pretty creepy down here. That much was true. But it wasn't anything to be afraid of.

My left foot hit the elevator when I heard a scream from behind me. "No! Please! Help me, somebody!"  
I wanted to run - to get back on the elevator and leave. But I couldn't do it. My legs shoved me forward towards the door but stopped as I reached it. What could I do? I wasn't a god or a witch. I was just a human girl, and I would probably be eaten or something. The best thing I could do was tell Kohaku about this and get away from this place. But what was I going to tell him it was exactly?

I summoned whatever courage I could find and pushed the door open just enough to see inside…

The girl I'd seen hung from the ceiling not far from the door she'd entered. But she wasn't the only one. Several other spirits lined the wall on either side of another long hallway. They were all unconscious. I opened the door slowly and hoped it would be silent. I stepped in when the opening was wide enough and left the door open. I didn't want to mess with it if I was running for my life.

Scratching my left wrist, I took a step forward. But I noticed that my left wrist went from itching to burning as I progressed down the hallway. I looked down at it. The bracelet that Kohaku had given me was glowing and tugging at me. It was pulling me back towards the door, warning me not to go any farther. At that moment I felt Kohaku's presence with me. But I pulled the bracelet off and shoved it in my pocket. Now that I'd seen these spirits held captive down here, I wasn't going to abandon them. They needed help.

As I tilted my head around the corner at the hall's end, I heard laughing and small clinking noise as the chain of imprisoned bathhouse workers scooted forward the length of one spirit exactly. I ran back to where the girl I'd come down with was tied and reached up to pull her loose from the slimy rope that felt like seaweed, but I couldn't loosen them.

Then I headed back down the hallway and turned the corner. Now I walked quickly. Around the next corner was a pool of water with a large octopus floating in the middle.

Hideharu's back was turned to a familiar face… At first I thought it was Yubaba standing before him, but as I tuned into their conversation, I realized that it was Zeniba.

"I think it's about time you quit all of this, Boh, don't you? Look what a shape you've taken!"

"Quiet! I won't hear this again! You're just mad that I've taken your power away like I did my mother, aren't you?" The octopus's voice shook the walls as he screamed. "Admit it!"

"I will admit nothing of the sort. But what is all of this for? Power? Is power everything to you now? Oh, how eight years can change a person…"

"The mumbling will cease. And you will leave. I have spirits to devour, and there is nothing that you can do to stop me. You are as useless as a human. Even more useless, actually. That human girl at least has a use."

"As bait, you mean. You're using Chihiro, your own friend, to bait Kohaku here! But you aren't powerful enough to take on a god. Surely, you know this will be the end of you."

"Maybe I'm not as powerful as a god, but I will be after the powers of these spirits are mine," he said motioning around him with a tentacle. "And I know his one weakness… The girl."

"Chihiro has a name. And be forewarned. She is not a weakness," Zeniba said turning to leave. "You will not be victorious."

I didn't pay any attention to the furious spirits I'd jumped in front of or pushed aside. I tightened my grip on Kohaku's bracelet as I ran towards the edge of town. I'd already walked this path many times as I explored the city in attempt to know my way around.

When I reached the hill that overlooked the town, I didn't glance back. I kept running into the empty wheat field on the other side. I yelled his name in my head and focused all my attention on the bracelet. I knew he was coming and that he could hear me. The green glow of the bracelet radiated his presence as I slipped it back on my wrist.

All the way to the cliffs, I ran with my eyes closed, and I would have run straight off of it if I hadn't run into something hard. I didn't look up at him. I just wrapped my arms around him. "Boh," I started.

"Shh. I already know. I saw everything in your mind."

"What do I do?"

Kohaku didn't answer me at first, but when he let out a long sigh. I knew what he was going to say. "I don't know," he murmured. I guess I was wrong. I thought he would send me home. "You can't go back to Yubaba's. If her power really is gone, then you won't be safe there. You'll come with me."

"I'm not going home?" I asked looking up at him. "That's what you want though, right? You've been trying to get me to go home."

"I gave that up already. I suppose it wasn't too hard to change my mind. In all honesty, I never wanted to send you home. Not even eight years ago. I just had to, and now I can't."

He bent his head over towards me and placed his lips gently on my forehead. Grabbing my arms, he pushed me away from him suddenly and grabbed my hands. "We have to leave now. I'll take you to the City of the Gods, the Imperial City. I'll face Takehiko. I've been putting it off, but it can't wait now. I need the full strength of my waters."

"I can't go there," I whispered. It surprised both of us to hear me say that. But I knew it was true. Those spirits that I had seen were going to die. Someone had to save them. Someone had to stop Boh. It wasn't about just bathhouse business anymore. "I was brought back for a reason! That bathhouse… I knew it had something to do with it. I was drawn to the thought of since I came. Surely, it's fate. I can make things right. I know it."

"No. I know the goddess of fate, and Minori is too proud to bring humans here on purpose. I spoke to her last time. It was my connection to you that brought you here, not Fate. The only difference this time is that I'm not your only connection to this world."

I didn't say anything. Of course, he would be unreasonable. Of course, he would refuse to even consider what I had to say. I supposed it wasn't entirely his fault. How many people stand around and argue with a god? I doubt there was many. But if he was going to be any near me, then he was going to have to get used to it.

"Fine," I said finally. Reverse psychology works on humans. Why not spirits? "Whatever you say."

"Okay. Then you should stay here. I'll be back soon."

"Where are you going?"

"The city. I can't just pop in with you and hope things go well. I didn't expect you to agree so easily… I have to have permission to enter. Just stay here, and I'll be back soon," he said as he turned away from me and launched himself off the cliff. My heart stopped for a moment as he fell, but he soon rocketed back into my sight and up towards the clouds as a magnificent white dragon.

"Kohaku!" I screamed at him. But he kept flying into the distance across the vast ocean. "I can't believe you left me here," I said to the bracelet as I slid it off my wrist once again.

I let myself fall to the ground. If I was waiting on him, it would be a while. Then it hit me. "Hey. He left me here."

Remembering the bracelet, I shoved it back in my pocket. As long as it wasn't touching me, I didn't think he would hear me. But he would notice that I wasn't wearing it. And that meant that I had very little time to get back across the river before he would be back. He'd probably be turning around right now.

I turned on my heel and bolted. If I was going to hesitate about going back, I could do it on the boat ride over. If I could catch the boat before Kohaku caught me, that is.

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**(A/N: Enjoyed? Please review!)**


	8. Chapter 8

**(A/N: Hope I get other reviews. This is like my first SP fanfic. Enjoy this chapter, PLEASE!) **

**_"Promise"_**

_By: FanFictioner002_

* * *

_Chapter 8_

"Hey. I'm not totally incapable. I even got to the ferry before you caught me," I told Kohaku as I watched my ride across the river leave without me. "I'll just wait until it comes back."

"No, you won't. Now you're definitely not leaving my side. How stupid would it be to waltz back into an obvious trap?"

"Great," I said looking at him - no, glaring at him. "Now I'm stupid. Good to know. I was too stupid to realize that obviously."

Not the greatest of my comebacks, but it was hard to think of good ones when it came to him. Kohaku rolled his eyes at me - he actually rolled his eyes! A sight I never dreamed I would see. "You're impossible," he told me in a whisper. He must have been trying not to yell.

"Thanks. Guess I was too stupid to realize that, too. Now I know though. So it's all good now."

"Never in all my years has anyone frustrated me as much as you. I hope you know that," he stopped for a moment but stopped me when I started to speak. "And don't you dare say that you were too stupid to realize it! I didn't mean that you were stupid."

Kohaku turned his back to me. Well, it was pretty stupid. I had to give him that. "I know, and I'm sorry," I said slowly. "I just feel like I need to go. Can't you understand that?"

I sank to the steps below me and looked across the river. He wasn't letting me go back. It was astonishing that he let me go in the first place. But it was ridiculous that I needed permission to do what I wanted.

"I do understand. But _you_ must understand that I can't lose you."

"Of course, I understand that. If I didn't feel the same about you then I would have gone back home already. You know, back when you told me to go back. But I didn't. I stayed here."

I turned around entirely to face him. And during that silence between us, as I stared at him and he stared off in another direction entirely, that's when I started thinking. And my heart started beating faster. And I felt my face turning red. He had kissed me. I'd known that this whole time, but it hadn't _really _sunk in until now.

"What?" He asked when he turned to me and saw me gazing at him. I bit my bottom lip, and my cheeks started to burn. I didn't know what to say, so I jerked my body back around to face the shimmering water. The sun was rising, and explosions of pink and orange filled the sky in a matter of seconds. There wouldn't be another ferry ride across until nighttime. But I didn't want to take the ferry right then anyway.

I stood and looked behind me, over Kohaku's head, at what looked like a intricate details to a theme park - the old looking plastor buildings and the stone stairs. It had never looked so beautiful. My first time seeing it, it just looked dull and uncared for - and slightly creepy. That had been so long ago. Things had changed so much.

I knew what I was going to do then. But I had to do it before I changed my mind. Kohaku stood up in front of me and held my elbow like he thought I might faint. "What's wrong, Chihiro?"

"What?" I asked innocently.

"I asked what was wrong."

"What else did you say?" I whispered and looked into his emerald eyes.

"Chihiro."

I stepped up and closed the distance between us. I hestitated when I first pressed my lips to his, but it felt too right. Then the world melted away in less than a second. That had to be a record or something.

"I love you," I breathed out as I pulled away. Our faces were still less than an inch apart. And that was too much of a distance for me, so I closed it and wrapped my arms around his neck.

The next time our lips parted, it was because he pushed me away but left his hands on either side of my face. "Never in my life has anyone frustrated me as much as you," he told me, sweeping my hair back with his fingers.

My eyes fluttered open and closed again immediately. It was still light outside, and I had already grown far too used to working nights and sleeping the day away. I almost fell back asleep, but I pushed myself up and rubbed my eyes. I was in Kohaku's room at the bathhouse. But he wasn't beside where I'd left him.

Somehow, I managed to force myself on my feet. Rubbing my eyes I walked out of the already open sliding door. Had he left in a hurry?

I slipped my pair of shoes on to head downstairs. I stumbled sleepily towards an elevator that was already open when i reached it. Lin stood before me with a panicked look on her face. I joined her as the elevator doors closed behind me.

"A messenger came this morning looking for Kohaku. He was from the Empirial City. I know you don't know much about this world. But a messenger from the City is never good."

Lin's tone of voice worried me. It had to be serious. We made our way down to the front bridge in a hurry. As I went outside, Lin turned to head back up to bed with a wave. Just as I stepped out into the harsh sunlight, I saw Kohaku arguing with a tall, red-headed man with a emotionless face.

"I cannot go! I have other things to deal with here. You can tell His Royal Highness that I will come to face the prince on my own time," he said angrily. I didn't know if he could get away with sending such a hateful message to royalty, but I supposed he knew what he was doing.

"I have been ordered to escort you to the City. Please accompany me, my lord," the messenger said with a bow. As his head rose again, his eyes caught mine, and he was speechless.

Kohaku turned to see what had startled the messenger. "Chihiro, go back inside."

I walked forward towards them despite his request. "What's going on?" I asked the messenger, knowing that Kohaku would have told me nothing.

"Lord Kami, King of the gods, has requested Nigihayami Kohaku Nushi's presence in the Imperial City. Though why I am explaining such things to a mere human is beyond me," he said with the first glimpse of emotion that he had displayed, hatred and irritation.

"You will not speak to her in that manner!" Kohaku screamed, stepping in between me and the messenger's glare.

"We are fully aware of your Bond with this human girl. That is why I gave her a response when she questioned me in the first place. However, we have no protocol for such a Bond. Perhaps, you should bring her along to the City. His Majesty has been most interested in meeting such a girl."

The messenger turned to leave expecting us to follow. Kohaku reached for my hand, and I gave it to him. "We don't have much of a choice, Chihiro."

I nodded as he pulled me along. The messenger leaped into the air, and I noticed the small wings on each of his ankles for the first time. Strange. Wings aren't typically found on ankles, but I suppose humans weren't typically found in the Spirit World either.

Kohaku dropped my hand and transformed into his dragon form in front of me. He looked back at me with his emerald eyes and gestured for me to climb on his back, so I did. He leaped into the air and snaked through the wind behind the messenger as he hopped from breeze to breeze.

I sort of wished he wouldn't have changed into his dragon form. I didn't know how far it was to this City, but it would seem like forever without someone to talk to me. I looked behind me, and the bathhouse was already so far away in the distance. And so was the other bathhouse, Boh's bathhouse.

I wondered if he was angry that I had left and foiled his plans to use me as bait. But I knew that he wasn't going give up. No one that power hungry was going to give up without a fight. I had to go back eventually though. He was just going to keep devouring spirits to grow stronger, and he had to be stopped.

Turning, I looked at the empty distance that lie ahead of us. The ocean below was empty except for the railroad tracks and a few islands. It made me think of the long train ride from eight years ago. It had seemed like days before I arrived at Swamp Bottom, the sixth stop after the bathhouse.

I leaned forward and laid my head down on Kohaku's back. We were moving so fast that looking down at everything had made my head hurt. Maybe it wouldn't take as long to get there travelling like this. Especially if I took a nap. I just hoped that I wouldn't sun burn.

My eyes were closed, and I was dead tired. But sleep didn't come for me. Eventually, my head stopped hurting, so I sat up and looked out across a world of spirits. It was hard to imagine that this world was so magical when it looked exactly like the world that I'd lived in for so long. The ocean shimmering under the sun, the green expanse of forest, the puffs of cloud that whipped into my face. The only difference between the way the two worlds looked was where I was seeing it from. Back home, I saw it from the ground. Here, I can see it from the air.

In the distance, I could see buildings much like the ones in the city that we'd just left not long ago. This City was directly in front of us, on top of a mountain surrounded by clouds. Flying seemed to be the only way to reach it. The messenger in front of us descended quickly, and Kohaku followed. We touched the ground lightly in front of a large gate adorned with gold, bronze, and silver.

I hopped down to the ground as the messenger approached the gate and spoke. His words caused the gates to swing open, and the resulting wind blew away the fog around us. Beside me was Kohaku, his emerald eyes never left me as he transformed back to the Kohaku that I knew so well. I took his hand immediately when he offered it to me. The aura around this place was daunting and angry. I didn't like the feel of it at all, but I had to go in with him.

"Come," said the messenger in front of us. "His Majesty awaits you in the audience chamber."

The messenger led the way through a city with streets paved in silver, and he took us to the largest, most beautiful building in sight. I assumed it to be a palace for the supposed King of the gods. My heart raced.

The doors of the palace were opened by servants wearing the brightest red kimonos. Their ebony black hair tied up with golden leaves. I felt awkward, wearing the pajamas that I'd came to this world in. When I rushed downstairs, I hadn't expected to be whisked away to meet royalty, or I would have dressed a little better.

"Kohaku," I whispered. "Is it too late to ask to change clothes?"

He chuckled and dropped my hand. His fingers flashed in front of my eyes making me blink. When I looked down, I wore the most beautiful kimono I'd ever seen. It was white with a purple obi and purple iris flowers on the bottom of it. I ran my hands over my hips. It was silk, too.

Then I saw my reflection in the marble floors. My hair was pulled up with silver ribbons. "You were already beautiful, but I suppose this would be a more appropriate beautiful."

"Kohaku, it's gorgeous."

"That kimono reflects your soul. It shows how beautiful you are on both the outside and the inside," he told me. "That is the magic I used."

I took his hand again, and we hurried to catch up with the messenger who'd left us behind.

Large. black double doors swung open widely in front of him, and we entered what could only be the audience chamber he'd spoke of. The messenger stepped aside, and Kohaku pulled me past him. Before us was a large, golden throne where an older man was seated. Despite his age, he was still beautiful somehow. Beside him were an older lady who seemed to be his wife and a young man who looked only a little older than Kohaku. This young man stepped forward immediately.

"No, Takehiko," The king said. "My son, you will not approach the situation informally."

Takehiko stepped back to his place beside his father. This was the person that Kohaku had to defeat to regain his river's waters.

Kohaku dropped my hand and bowed gracefully to the royal family and stayed down as he looked up at the king. I did not bow. I wasn't sure if it would be appropriate or not.

"Human, you dare to stand upright in the presence of royalty?" Takehiko demanded.

I wasn't sure what to say now, but all eyes were on me excpet for Kohaku who still looked at the King, waiting to see what he would do. All I could think of was how I was sick of being referred to as "human." It wasn't hard to ask for a name.

"I don't freely hand out respect before I've decided whether it is deserved or not."

What had I just done?

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**(A/N: I think I'm a slow typer. Please wait for the next chapter - chapter 9.)**


	9. Chapter 9

**(A/N: All I have to say is enjoy.) **

_**"Promise"**_

_By: FanFictioner002_

* * *

_Chapter 9_

Laughter boomed and echoed throughout the hallway. Amusement colored the king's face as he stood from his throne. I didn't know whether to be relieved or offended. Was he laughing at me or not?

"Fire lives in this girl," he spoke after calming himself. "You would be appropriate for her, Kohaku. It will take a river's worth of water to quell her flames. Tell me, girl, what are you called?"

"Her name is Chihiro, my king," Kohaku spoke quickly before I got the chance. I suppose he was afraid of what I would say. I couldn't blame him. I didn't even know what I would say next.

"Chihiro, you will do well not to speak in such a way to me again. Consider yourself more than lucky that you amused me. Otherwise, I would have had your life."

The king of the gods descended the steps before him gracefully and appraised me before turning back to Takehiko. He said nothing to him, but Takehiko left through a side entrance quickly followed by the queen. The king turned back to Kohaku and gave him permission to stand.

Kohaku did not look at me nor at the king. He kept his eyes lowered to the ground. It must have been a show of respect. I, however, looked straight into the king's eyes. They were silver and swimming with age and wisdom. But I also saw cruelty within him. I knew then that he was not kidding about taking my life. He would have done so in a heart beat. Luckily, I'm an amusing person.

"You know why you have been called here, Kohaku. My son can wait no longer, for he is weakened by your waters. This issue must be resolved immediately. You understand me, don't you?"

"I do, Your Majesty. In fact, I was about to return for that very purpose as well," Kohaku answered.

"Good, good. You know where to go, I assume. Leave the girl to my servants. They will escort her to Minori. She has asked to see her," the King said solemnly, and Kohaku turned to leave immediately.

Before he walked through the doorway, he turned to look back at me. "My king, I ask only one thing. Please keep Chihiro from the arena, if you will."

With that, he was gone, and the king snapped his fingers calling three servant ladies forward from the shadows. Two of them took my arms and led me from the chamber, and the third followed behind me closely. None of them said a word.

The hallway seemed to never end. Eventually, the women turned me around and down yet another endless hall. We didn't go far down this one however. After about twenty or so feet, we came to a stop in front of yet another set of large double doors encrested with gold and silver. The women stepped away from me then, and when I blinked, they were gone entirely.

The doors in front of me creaked open slightly. "Come in here, my child," a woman's voice called out to me. "Well, hurry up!"

I walked into the room hesitantly. Directly in front of me was the king's wife that I'd seen before in her glorious red and gold kimono. She sat across a chaise lounge, the only piece of furniture in the surprisingly small room. The woman's legs fell from the seat, and she patted where they had been laying. "Come and sit with me, Chihiro."

Slowly, I walked up to her and sat down. "Minori," she began. "That is my name. You may have guessed that I am the queen of this palace, but I shall tell you something you don't know. Actually, I will tell you many things that you do not know. Firstly, I am the goddess of Fate."

Minori paused, noticing the shock on my face. Here sat the woman with the power to make anything she wanted simply happen. She laughed a little after a moment and continued.

"You must be thinking that I control Fate, but that is not true. However, I do see the threads of Fate and how they connect. It is true that I can manipulate Fate to an extent. But I cannot make something impossible happen. Believe me when I tell you that my powers are much more limited than one would imagine."

Minori stood and took a few steps before turning to look at me again.

"I did know about you, Chihiro. I've known about you for a long time."

"What do you mean by that?" I asked her quickly, hoping that this woman could give me some of the answers that Kohaku had been promising me.

"I mean," she said. "That I've known for centuries that you would find your way here twice, that the Nigihayami Kohaku Nushi would fall in love with you. But that only names a few things that I know. You see, I know why it is that you are here."

"Please, tell me if you know! There are so many things happening. I need to know what to do!"

"Patience, my daughter. All in good time. Firstly, Kohaku has had plenty of opportunity to tell you what it is that has been on his mind, and he has not. He will be angry with me, but I am going to tell you now. You need to know these things."

I nodded in relief. She was right about Kohaku, but if it was so important, then I couldn't wait on him to tell me. Minori wasn't going to beg the question like he did.

"Do you remember the day that Kohaku took you to Gin's pond?"

"I do," I told her. "He's been promising to explain things to me ever since then. He still hasn't though."

"Surely you realized that the ritual the two of you performed was quite significant?"

"I guess so. Wasn't it just a spell to protect me?"

"In a sense, yes. That was the best way for Kohaku to protect you at the time. But at the same time, it is much more than that. In the sense of this world, you and Kohaku are, in a way, married, to put it in terms that you would understand."

"Ma - married?" I asked with a stutter.

"Indeed. Yet it is still more complicated than that. The two of you are Bonded and Mated. I suppose you might also call the two of you soulmates. Not in the sense that you were made for each other, but in the sense that two of you will never be able to be as close to another as the two of you are. I know you don't understand the full meaning of it yet, and since it isn't necessary to go into the full details, I will spare you the lecture."

Married, Mated, Bonded... My head was spinning. I honestly didn't think that my brain could process anything else she had to tell me. But she didn't wait for a moment for me to re-group.

"Chihiro, the other thing that he wanted to tell you is this: you are not a human girl."

"What are you even talking about? I'm married? I'm not human? Are you insane?"

"Calm down, my daughter," Minori said patiently.

"Stop calling me 'daughter' and 'child!""

"I apologize, Chihiro. I will not do so again. However, if my servants hear you speaking disrespectfully to their queen, I am not responsible for what the king may do."

"I'm sorry. I don't understand."

"I know, and that is why I will explain it to you. In due time, you will understand. Chihiro, you are not a human. You were born to human parents, make no mistake about that, and you do have the physical qualities of a human. Kohaku knows only this much about you. The rest is still a mystery even to him. But I will make it known after today that I am your mother. That, Chihiro, is why I refer to you as my child."

"How can you possibly be my mother?" I asked again, still screaming a little.

"You see, Chihiro, we gods do not have life spans. We simply live. But gods can have children, and these children are born gods as well. This is because after so many years of life, gods become tired of living, and children are born to replace them. Fate is the one who decides when a new god will come forth. However, it was different for me than most because I could see that my Fate's thread was drawing short. That is why I used an ancient magic to send you to the human world, to be born to human parents. In the past, the gods and goddesses of Fate have always been targeted as infants for their abilities. To consume another and take their strength... This is something that you have witnessed from Yubaba's son, Boh, correct?"

"Would he have eaten me then?"

"No, Chihiro," my mother, goddess of Fate, laughed. "Boh is but a witchling spirit. He cannot sense what you truly are. However, if he were to know, then it is safe to say that he would attempt to do so. Sending you to another realm did protect you from those like him, but your soul is too attached to this world. Your soul's attachment is why Kohaku was able to save you as a child when you'd fell into his river, and the connection you made with him at that time only made your connection to this world stronger. Then when that new connection with Kohaku brought you here again to free him, you made even more connections. So many that it would be impossible for you to simply leave here again."

"So you're saying that I can't leave? That I'm here for good?" I asked. This is one thing that I knew I wouldn't mind coming out of this whole situation. But then again, apparently I was a gods' child and belonged here.

"There are ways for you to go back if you so choose. Fate can permit that. But, Chihiro, I will not awaken your powers and your true self until you decide what it is that you will do. That is something that is still unclear to me and therefore unclear to you. For now, you must remain in your human guise. And tell no one of who you are, not even Kohaku. If someone were to realize that you are the next goddess of Fate, things would become quite troublesome for us all.

"Chihiro, there are even more things that must be told to you, but for now, you must go. Return to the audience chamber where you met with Takehiko and the King. Take the left entrance out, and walk to full distance of that hallway. Then you will take a left again. The second hallway on the right will take you to the arena where Kohaku fights Takehiko now. He needs you in order to achieve victory, Chihiro."

"Kohaku's in trouble? He's fighting this guy without even telling me first?"

"Yes, he is in danger. You must hurry to him. Fate sees that this is the only way for him to win. He needs to borrow the strength that your heart will create."

I turned quickly and quicked off my shoes. I supposed she knew how to end things. Saying Kohaku was in trouble was a sure fire way to prevent any of my questions. Fate must have seen that I had many. For now, all I could do was trust what Minori had told me. In my heart, I knew it to be the truth, so trust wasn't hard to find for her.

I ran as fast as I could down those cursed long hallways, taking the directions I had been given and repeating them over in my head. Chamber, left, left, second on the right. In between repeating, I couldn't help but wonder if Fate knew whether I would make it in time or not.

But this was all I could do: try with all of my heart.

After the last turn, I concentrated less on where I was and more on how fast I was getting there. My bare feet pounded the cold marble floor, and the echoing sound reverberated off of the walls. Eventually, a bright light appeared before me, and I ran faster because I knew that I was there now. I could hear people yelling and cheering for Takehiko. I could hear the sounds of my dragon crying out in pain.

I emerged in the arena unnoticed by anyone. The dirt under my feet was hot and burned the soles of my feet, but I didn't pay any attention to it. Before my eyes stood a large blue dragon rearing back for the final blow, and my emerald-eyed dragon struggled to get up. Takehiko had more strength than he did. Kohaku had been away from his water for so long, he'd just flown all the way here, and he'd shared his power with me to protect me. Takehiko had done none of those things.

I lurched forward and found myself in between two ferocious beasts with my arms swung out protectively. Takehiko's piercing blue eyes glared straight into mine as he stopped not even an inch in front of me.

A growl came from behind me, but I paid Kohaku no mind. Takehiko, however, was on the receiving end of the most hateful glare I'd ever given in my entire life. I didn't know what to do or say, so I just stood there.

The crowds of gods around me gasped. I guessed I'd ruined their show.

Suddenly, Kohaku came around me and bit into Takehiko's throat. The look in Takehiko's eyes was defeat. I turned away, knowing that in order for Kohaku to live, Takehiko had to die.

No one truly understood sorrow until they had heard the final dying scream of a dragon.

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**(A/N: Enjoyed? I'm not going to post chapter 10 until I get a review.)**


	10. Chapter 10

**(A/N: All I have to say is... ENJOY!) **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Spirited Away. **

**_"Promise"_**

_By: Arlina'Harris_

* * *

_Chapter 10 _

"Granny," I said, looking out the window. "I want to ask you something."

"Anything, dear," Yubaba's twin sister said without looking up from her knitting. "But you should come over here with me. He won't be back until tomorrow. He told you that."

I stood from my window seat and walked over beside her. Kohaku had left me on his way to his river yesterday. There were things he had to do now that he was the only God with claims to it. Why I couldn't go with him remained a mystery to me.

"Nevermind," I said quickly.

"No, no. You can ask me anything, and I will answer you truthfully."

"Don't worry about it, Granny. It was nothing."

Sitting down beside Granny Zeniba, I picked up a pair of extra knitting needles, and Granny asked if I wanted to learn. It probably would have been neat to learn, but I wasn't in the mood. I was too torn between what to do next. I wanted to go back to speak with Minori again. She hadn't had time to tell me everything. But then I remembered Boh and his bathhouse. Something told me I wasn't finished there.

"Granny, I changed my mind."

"Well, then, what is it, dear?"

"Boh - he took your powers, right? And his mother's too?"

Granny Zeniba stopped knitting and looked up at me at once. She was stunned. "Yes, Chihiro, he did."

"Well, why did he do it? Why is he doing what he's doing? I know he wants power, but why? There has to be a reason. I mean, Boh's not really evil. He couldn't be."

"We may never know his reasoning, and that is something that we will both have to live with," she told me after thinking if over for a moment.

I nodded in response, and another question came to mind. "When Kohaku gets back, he'll probably take me somewhere 'safe,' won't he?"

Granny didn't answer me but went back to her knitting.

"I figured as much," I whispered as I stood. "I think I should go then."

I headed out the door, ignoring Granny Zeniba's questions. She didn't have the power to stop me any more. But she'd have it back soon. Someone had to confront Boh, but the way I was now, I'd just get myself captured. Minori, my mother, would know what I needed to do.

I combed my fingers through my wet hair as I sat down on the train. The trains ran only one way, and I had no way of knowing if I was headed in the right direction. But what else could I do? I wasn't a dragon.

The walk through the woods had been tiring enough, and as soon as I reached the train station, it started to rain. I stood there for hours until the train showed up just after dusk. I didn't have a ticket, so I didn't board as I normally would have. Kohaku would scold me for it later, but I jumped onto the rear of the train just as it started speeding up again. Honestly, I almost died. But hey, I'm okay. It was fine. Even if I almost froze to death waiting on the back of the train for the Shadow to finish up and peek into the empty train car and leave. As soon as he slid the door up front closed, I dashed in from the back and sunk into the nearest seat.

Pulling my knees up to chin, I wrapped my shivering arms around my legs and tried to keep what warmth I had left in. Kohaku wasn't supposed to return to Granny's house until tomorrow afternoon or so Granny had said. He wasn't going to be happy. But he probably already knew. I guess whatever he had to do was more pressing than me taking a train ride. I sighed and wished that I could do whatever I wanted without having to worry about him getting beside himself or coming to stop me. I might as well have been back in the human world where Mom would be lecturing me on the importance of going into the medical field.

That was the reason I was going back to see Minori again - to tell her that I had made up my mind, to get the power that I needed. I wasn't going to be the kind of person who let everyone else make decisions for me or take care of me. I was going to take care of myself.

The train screeched to a halt suddenly after only a few minutes. I looked out the window at a small train station in front of what looked like a small village of Shadows. The Shadows slinked around in the rain outside of the largest building. It was strange, how they looked. They were called Shadows, and they looked like just that - human shadows sprung up from the ground, walking around. To me, they had no distinctive appearance. To them, they looked human just like me, and they weren't dead. To them, they were still living.

The door to my train car slid open, but I didn't look up. It closed again a moment later. That's when I looked up. There wasn't anyone in there with me, so I wondered if it was just my imagination.

I shrugged it off. There wasn't any point in dwelling on it. I sat on the train for a long time wondering when it would be leaving again when the lights shut off. Jumping up, I ran to the front of the car and peered through the windows. I didn't see anyone and the door wouldn't open. Then I tried the back door that I'd came in before. It wasn't easy, but with some effort I was back out in the drizzling rain where the train had stopped for the night.

The village beside me was completely quiet. There a few lights on in some windows, but they started flickering off soon. Bed time... I hopped over to the slippery platform and managed to keep from sliding everywhere. Now what?

I was sure that I was nowhere near the city. It was on top of a mountain, and I was stuck in the middle of nowhere. I started down the long platform that ended up being as long as the train itself only to see that there were no tracks in front of it at all. This was the last stop. And since it didn't run back the other way any more, I wondered how it would get back around if the tracks stopped.

After a moment, I started walking through the tiny village. I couldn't see much because of the darkness, but my eyes adjusted enough to make a path when I reached the edge of the village. It headed in the direction the train had been travelling, so I thought that maybe it would take me to the mountain where the city was. Scaling the mountain? I would worry about that when I got there.

I walked for hours and just hoped that the sun would come up soon. I didn't like the dark very much. Eventually, I tired out and slumped against the base of a tree beside the road.

And before I realized it, I was jerking awake to the sun shimmering across a lake that I hadn't realized was there. It was still low in the sky, still morning, and I pushed myself to my feet to continue walking. Back on the road, I looked into the distance in front of me. A huge mountain stood before me. It wasn't close by, but it wasn't as far as I thought it was.

"Getting to the top isn't going to be fun," I whispered to myself.

"No, but it will be a lot easier with my help."

I looked above to see the messenger that had come for Kohaku before.

"Her Majesty has requested that you return to her immediately. She was not finished with you as of yet. Much to my dismay, I must offer to carry you, Lady Chihiro."

The messenger sneered every word he spoke, and his glare made me nervous. Carry me? What, was he going to carry me to the top of the mountain then drop me by "accident"? That seemed most likely.

Still, he was my only option because I didn't pack for mountain climbing.

The messenger flew me to the top of the mountain, over the gates where we had stopped before, through the city, and onto a balcony on the side of the palace. As soon as my feet hit the marble floors, the messenger was gone. "He really doesn't like me," I said.

"Of course not, Chihiro. No one here likes a human."

Minori stood in front of me. I could see her easily through the flowing sheer curtains across the balcony. She beckoned me inside.

"I've decided that I want to stay here," I told her as I walked inside. "There are some things that I feel like I should do though."

"Yes, yes. The moment you decided, I knew. You should have realized. I also know what it is that you will do."

"Okay, so how does this work?"

Minori laughed and took my hand. She led me out into another of those endless hallways and into a room with a very large dining table."For now, we must converse."

The king sat at the head of the table. "I see the resemblance to you, my wife, that I hadn't seen before you informed me of her true existance," the king said in a very tired voice. "Takehiko and she would have been splendid together... It is a shame that she would cause the death of her own brother."

"That sentence made no sense," I blurted. "Takehiko is my brother, but we would have been good together? That's just wrong."

"Not in this world, it isn't," Minori told me soflty. "Actually, you were born to take my place. That means more than a strong connection with Fate. That means that you are to be Queen. Your brother was to replace the king. But now he is no longer. Had he survived, he would have been your husband. But you would have been most unhappy. I chose your happiness over his life in my advice to you. But I knew that whoever defeated him would take his powers and his place. My husband could step down and fade into a peaceful abyss, and my child would be happy."

Althought what I was hearing now should have been obvious because of the conversation we'd had before, it was still shocking. Coming back didn't seem like the best idea anymore. I didn't sign up to be a queen.

Minori guided me to sit beside her on the left of the king.

"I can't be a queen. I just can't."

The king laughed. "Child, what you cannot do is refuse."

"Well, then I can't be the queen just yet. I just need my powers awakened like you said, Minori."

"You will not recieve your powers until it is time for you to take my place. You will stay the way that you are until then."

I sighed. "Then, I guess I'll be back when I'm done with everything then. How can I leave? And can Kohaku not know about all of this?"

"About who you are, he will not know until he is told. However, he knows well what will be expected of him since defeating the prince."

I nodded.

"You can leave," Minori continued. "and return as you wish using these."

She held up a small bowl of glowing green orbs. "Throw them onto the ground and think of a place that you want to go to. The pearls will break, and the mist will take you there."

"What are they?" I asked her, taking the bowl from her.

"These are Yuuko's Pearls."

Three tiny pearls sat the bowl. I tookt them out of the bowl and shoved two of them in my pocket, leaving the other in my hand.

I stood up and told them that I'd be leaving. They didn't say anything else. Instead they watched my throw the pearl onto the ground and a thin mist slowly surround me.

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**(A/N: Can you guys please message me a better summary for this story so far. I feel like quiting this story. It's barely going anywhere and doesn't make sense. I'll be posting more chapters like tomorrow!)**


	11. Chapter 11

**(A/N: Enjoy. Thnx for the reviews! I love them! So lets continue with the story...)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own this movie, Hayao Miyazaki does. **

**_"Promise"_**

_By: Arlina'Harris_

* * *

_Chapter 11 _

One minute, I was standing in the dining room of a palace, then the next I was standing in the middle of the street with spirits yelling for me to get out of the way. I ran over to the crowd and fought my way through them. When I could finally move around a little without tripping over feet - or claws or hoofs - I climbed on top of a large crate and looked back at the parade that I had interrupted just a moment before.

The marching spirits were nobles like the ones who had came across the river on the ferry to Yubaba's bathhouse eight years ago. They wore large masks and brightly colored capes. Not an inch of their bodies were visible, so I had no clue what they looked like.

I couldn't help myself, so I tapped the nearest spirit on the shoulder and asked, "What's going on?"

"What? You really don't know? Why, the bathhouse is sponsoring a semi-annual festival! They're only charging half-price during the festival!"

"The bathhouse?"

"Yes, but I wouldn't think of going today on the first day. There's going to be a huge crowd, you know. Call me paranoid, but anything could happen to you, and no one would ever know. You could disappear without a trace. With all this celebrating, no one would realize it."

"Of course - uh, thanks!" I screamed over my shoulder as I ran towards the very place I'd just been warned to stay away from. Maybe Boh really was evil. He organized this whole festival just for more spirits, stronger spirits to come expecting a little pampering for less money - then they would end up on the menu. He was going devour most of them and take their power. Then he'd come after Kohaku. I didn't think Kohaku would lose to him so easily. But I couldn't stand by and watch if there was something that I could do.

Now I just had to figure out what exactly it was that I could do...

The waiting line for the bathhouse was ridiculous. Besides, I could see Miho at the door. I doubted that I'd be getting in that way. Well, at least not quietly anyway. There were still two pearls left in my pocket. But one of those had to take me back to the palace. And the other one? Well, I wasn't going to basically throw it away. I'd expected to be right in the middle of the bathhouse when I'd used it. It wasn't entirely accurate, so I probably wouldn't end up inside anyway.

I knew waiting in line wasn't going to get me anywhere any time soon, so I cut around to the side of the building. There in a spacious alley, I found myself alone. There were several windows around, and peering into each of them, I could see many, many Spirits. Climbing through the window would be a good way to catch attention. Not that I was bothering with being stealthy, but I felt like it would cause less problems to stay out of sight.

But something told me I wouldn't be going in through the windows, so I just stopped looking through them at all and headed straight for a manhole up ahead. The manhole cover was heavier than it looked, but I managed to set it aside without hurting myself.

Leaning over the edge carefully, I gazed into the blackness. I couldn't see anything. Normally, I would stand up and not even consider going down there. But I trusted my instincts and swung my legs into the hole. I let myself drop before I chickened out and landed on solid ground just a few feet down.

I thought that after a moment my eyes would adjust. They didn't. Luckily, they didn't have to adjust. The bracelet Kohaku had given me for protection started glowing. It glowed so brightly that the entire cave was shimmering green.

The cave was small, and it wasn't a sewer, which I was more than glad about. It was pretty much just a little tunnel going in either direction, back down the alley towards the main town and further behind the bathhouse. It wasn't hard to guess which whay I would need to go.

I started walking immediately because I had an eerie feeling about what this little tunnel's use. After a moment, my quick stride turned into a flat-out run. I had to get out of that tunnel. That's all I knew.

In the distance, a _whoosh_-ing sound echoed to my ears, and it took only a for more moments for that noise to drown out the sound of my feet pounding the ground. And the noise didn't come alone. A slimey stench stung the inside of my nostrils making it feel like I needed to sneeze really bad. Then the odor's intensity grew, and I had to hold my breath. It wasn't as bad as the "Stink Spirit," but it was definitely on my top three worst smells list - closely followed by the day my twin cousins had a really nasty accident in the bath tub.

Suddenly, I slipped and slid through the end of the tunnel I was in and into another one. I'd fallen a good ten feet and landed on my rear. When the _whoosh_-ing got louder though, I forgot about the pain and dove out of the way of the disgusting brown water that poured out into the stream of flith before me. Well, it was a good thing I'd gotten out of there when I did, right?

I stood up and kept walking without thinking about the direction I was going or looking back. My hand flew up to cover my nose. The smell was almost unbearable now - but still nothing I hadn't smelled before.

After a while of walking, I started doubting my instincts a bit. The only thing that seemed to be coming of this was a horrible stink that would be soaked into my skin before I got out of here.

That's when I saw the door up ahead of me.

I ran as fast as I could, more than ready to breathe in untainted oxgen. The door handle didn't turn easily, but finally I was able to force it down and to shove the rusty metal door open. And I could have sworn that my bracelet that Kohaku had given me glowed for a moment just before it opened. It probably did.

Part of me was elated that he was still looking after me, but the other part of me was sick and angry at myself for needing him. But none of that should have mattered. This wasn't about proving myself to him or to anyone. I was here to save people, to save my old friend.

But I was only human. Or - well, I guess I wasn't. I was like a human though, and there was a word for that. I just couldn't remember what it was.

My bracelet glowed more brightly still lighting up the darkness and revealing a dusty staircase. The brighter it glowed, the stranger the aura from it seemed. Then I knew it wasn't Kohaku helping me. No, he would be steering me backwards, trying to get me out of there before something terrible happened. The one helping me was Minori. She was guiding me to my fate, I knew it. If it wasn't my fate, then she wouldn't be helping me either.

Suddenly, a sense of fear washed through me. What was I going to do when I faced Boh? Words would do no good. I saw that when Granny Zeniba had spoke with him. What could I do to make him see the light? Or was there anything I could do to change him? Maybe the only option was to be rid of him. I didn't want that nor could I do that.

I gulped and climbed the stairs hesitantly at first until my mother's warmth spread from the bracelet throughout my body and gave me strength.

"Don't let the future scare you," her voice whispered. "Fate will not lead you astray."

She was right.

I sighed heavily, letting everything weighing me down fall as I ascended the stairs and my feet take me where fate needed me to go. I knew where I would find Hideharu.

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**(A/N: Enjoyed? I'll post another chapter when I get about two reviews.)**


	12. Chapter 12

**(A/N: Sorry I didn't update in one day. Thank you for the reviews. Okay enough of thanking... time for chapter 12.)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Spirited Away. **

_**"Promise"**_

_By: Arlina'Harris_

* * *

_Chapter 12_

I tried to scream as Hideharu's tentacle wrapped around me. But screaming underwater isn't so easy. Still I tried.

My empty lungs ached for oxygen. Reflexively, I sucked in and choked on the water. The tentacle tightened around me and slung me upwards. I was out of the water again and gasping for air.

I hadn't expected to end up in that horrible basement where I'd seen him last time as soon as I made it up those old, dirty stairs. He said he'd been waiting for me. Then one of his eight slimey limbs knocked me into the water where he floated.

"Chihiro, don't look at me like that. I won't devour you. Not until your beloved river god arrives," he said before he chuckled heftily. "I should have more than enough now. And I have you as well."

I didn't say anything. Not because I didn't want to, but because I couldn't. I still couldn't breathe, and my arms and legs wouldn't move. In the corner of my eye, I saw my bracelet glowing. It seemed pointless. From such a distance, what could anyone do for me now?

But I wasn't afraid yet. He still needed me. Until Kohaku came, there wasn't a reason to be afraid.

My mind was working quickly. I looked around at my surroundings for anything I could use against him. But he dropped me back into the water when I'd finally caught my breath.

This time I was ready and held my breath. I dipped not too far beneath the surface, so I could swim up again. My head popped up out of the cold water.

"I won't lose track of you if you're in here with me," Hideharu said.

"Boh!" I screamed, using his name from eight years ago rather than the new one that he'd adopted. "Boh, why are you doing this?"

He glared at me with his octopus eyes and knocked me underwater again in annoyance. He wasn't going to dignify me with a response.

I felt really useless, flailing around in the water like fish with no fins. My glowing bracelet burned against my wrist. Kohaku was coming. And he wasn't happy to say the least.

"Boh," I choked out when burst through the surface of the water again. He glared down at me, his tentacle raised in the air prepared to swat the annoying fly that I was to him. "You can't win. You can't defeat him. Kohaku's much more powerful! You're only going to get yourself killed."

"That's what you think, human. But if comes to him losing you, then what? Will he still kill me if I plan to take your life before he can take mine?"

"Of course not," Kohaku's voice echoed to me from where he stood, somehow even more beautiful and glorious than he was before. Hideharu's tentacle began to wrap around me again, and I shut my eyes. Would he crush me now?

I felt Kohaku's arms wrap around me. Opening my eyes, I found myself in his arms, out of the water and a good distance from Hideharu himself. The octopus-looking spirit's complexion colored with rage. He was out of his league, and he knew it.

Or so he wanted us to think.

Deep, howling laughter echoed around us as Hideharu bobbed up an down in the water. Apparently, we'd boobied right into his trap.

The ground beneath us was covered in a sticky goo that glued Kohaku in place. I was a little confused why that was such a big deal and why he looked so worried about it, but I figured it out soon enough. The sticky goo wasn't just sticking to him but was sticking into him as well and was steadily sapping his power.

That goo had to go. But what time did I have to think?

The goo covered the ground around us entirely. If he put me down, we'd both be stuck. There was only one thing to do.

"Throw me into the water," I whispered into his ear.

"What?" He asked me, astonished that I could even suggest such a thing. "I won't."

"You have to! You're stuck, and if I get stuck then we're as good as dead. I know what I'm doing," I lied. "Throw me back into the water."

At first he hesitated, then he chunked me into the pool with a regretful expression on his face.

Under the water, I opened my eyes hoping I'd be able to see something. All I could see was something dark coming for me. Hideharu's tentacle was closing in to grab me.

Apparently, Kohaku had a plan, too. I heard explosions echoing from above as he casted spells to distract Hideharu.

Frantically, I started swimming down towards the bottom of the pool. I dodged the squirming tentacles and pushed myself down. It wasn't easy. My body wanted to float back up.

Then I remembered something I'd learned from school or television or something. Slowly I let the breath I'd been holding out. I spat out every ounce of air in my lungs making swimming a little easier. I didn't feel like I was getting no where like I did before.

I reached the bottom of the pool and looked up. Kohaku was still distracting Hideharu. Glancing around the bottom I looked for drains or anything. That's when I saw a pipe. The pipe ran from below the bottom of the pool and up about seven feet. It didn't seem to be doing anything, so I figured taking that wouldn't hurt any.

I swam over quickly, shoving the ache in my lungs back and doing the best I could to stay awake. I was getting dizzy from the lack of oxygen.

I reached the pipe faster than I'd realized. Wrapping my fingers around, I tried to pull it and then to twist it. It took a few moments of fighting with it to even make it budge. As I turned it, the pipe slowly unscrewed and came loose from the pool.

Well, I had a pipe. What I was going to do with it was still a mystery to even me. Maybe improvising in a life or death situation wasn't the best idea I'd ever had.

Kicking off of the bottom of the pool, I darted for the surface, for oxygen. I was almost out of it.

Suddenly, I found a burst of strength within me, and my eyes snapped open. The water around me didn't feel like an enemy anymore, but more like a weapon that I could use. I knew then that Kohaku was getting tired. The goo sapping his strength and the constant string of spells were getting to him fast. He was giving what he had left to me and trusting me to use it well.

The water around me whirled and followed my thoughts to the pipe. The pipe launched from my fingertips like a missile before I blacked out.

"Chihiro! You have to wake up!" Kohaku's voice rang in my ears and made my head hurt. I jerked my limbs and yawned only to get rusty tasting water in my mouth. I spat it out furiously and balanced myself in the water.

I jumped a little when I saw Hideharu, but the sticky red in the water and his unmoving form told me exactly why he wasn't attacking me.

I swam backwards slowly to Kohaku, still stuck to the floor. At the edge of the pool, I flew out of the water and looked backwards.

It was me. I had killed Boh. I had used Kohaku's power and that pipe to take my friend's life.

"Chihiro, don't cry," Kohaku told me in a soothing voice, stroking my wet hair softly. "It's okay."

"No, no, it isn't okay! I didn't even try to talk to him, to reason with him."

"There is no reasoning with some people," Kohaku and I turned to see Granny Zeniba standing not far away. "But I warn you both. Yubaba's memories and magic have returned to her now that Boh is gone. She will not be happy with either of you, and I'm afraid my sister is not one you would want as an enemy."

Zeniba came closer and muttered a spell that turned the sticky goo into water. "What of the other spirits consumed by him?" Kohaku asked quietly.

"They are lost, I am afraid. Not everyone could be saved. We don't live in a perfect world like that," Zeniba said before turning to me. "Now, Chihiro. Stop your wailing. That won't change anything nor make you feel any better."

I stiffled the sobs that I hadn't realized I'd been producing as best as I could. "Granny, we have to go now. Minori is waiting for me," I whispered through tears.

She nodded as did Kohaku. Reaching in my pocket, I found only one of the magic pearls that Minori had given me. I looked around me and saw the other floating towards me in the bloody water. I didn't reach for it. I just stared at it, trying not to look back at Boh whose octopus form was shrinking back into the baby form that I'd known.

Kohaku's hand flashed into my line of view and grabbed the pearl. Then his hands stood me up, and we threw the pearls into the ground immediately and waved good-bye to Granny as we disappeared and reappeared in the dining hall of the king and queen.

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**(A/N: I'll be posting chapter 13. It won't be slow, ****_promise_****. Please, review!)**


	13. Chapter 13

**(A/N: I just wanted to say that the story if almost ending. In one chapter the story is about to end. I really hope you enjoyed if I ended it. Just I'm glad I wrote this and you're reading it. So I'll be writing the next chapter... till then chow!)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Spirited Away.**

_**"Promise"**_

_By: Arlina'Harris_

* * *

_Chapter 13_

"I'm back," I told Minori who was chewing a bite of her salad. "We're back."

She stood up and called over her shoulder for her husband, the king. The king walked over to her from the window where he had been staring out at his royal city and took her hand in his. That's when I noticed that both of them looked at least fifty years older than they had before I went to face Boh.

"We have been waiting. It's almost time, Chihiro. Fate has told me your decision."

I nodded. Fate hadn't lied to her. I was prepared to take on anything - even an entire world of responsibilities. It would be worth it to spend forever with my dragon, my Kohaku. "There is just one thing," I whispered slowly. "My family from the human world - they deserve to know that I'm okay. I don't want to tell them the truth, but they should know something."

"You may do as you please once you become Queen."

I would take that. Maybe it meant that I wouldn't have to say good-bye to them forever. Maybe I could go see them every once in a while.

Minori and the king led us into the throne room where we had met before. I remembered Minori's calm and collected face - something I hadn't taken note of before. She had known everything. Of course, she wouldn't be as angry or as worried as we all were at that time.

The ritual that proceeded was a blur of oaths and crowns. My mind flashed through everything I'd went through and all that I had lost while I was here. I'd lost a brother that I'd never known, a friend that I could have saved, and now as I watched the forms of my true parents fade into a warm glow that would forever reside within us, I had lost a mother and a father that I should have loved.

Then there was only myself and Kohaku who had been ever silent, constantly appraising my emotional condition. He could feel the impending breakdown coming, just as I could see it with my newfound connection to Fate.

"So when did you find out about all of this, about me?" I asked him, referring to the things Minori had told me and that I had kept from him.

"After you left here the second time, Minori came to me. She told me everything and said that originally I was not to know about it yet. But you had perplexed Fate itself and made her question it. So she told me."

"A lot has happened. And yet more is still to come. Yubaba is beyond angry with me. Granny cannot reason with her. She will be here later," I recited in a dreamy voice as if I weren't even myself. "It's strange knowing these things. But it's good to know that everything will be alright in the end. At least that is the way it seems for now."

Still seated in the throne of the king and the queen, Kohaku and I looked out over the marble floor. Neither of us knew what to say. How could we? Lately, everything had been moving so fast, time had been passing by so quickly. Now that we could sit calmly without much of a worry or care, what we were supposed to do?

The messenger who had been so unfriendly towards me before opened the door at that time. "Your Highnesses, there is much to do before the Games begin the month after next. The committee has requested an audience with the new monarchs to discuss the agenda. Shall I allow them entrance?"

"Yes, of course," Kohaku told him regally, taking on his role with such grace and ease that he seemed like a different person entirely yet still exactly the same as the dragon boy I fell in love with over eight years ago.

The messenger left the room and closed the door behind him quietly. "The Games?" I asked.

"Even the gods enjoy competition. The humans celebrate the Olympics, correct? You should know the basics of our version then."

I nodded. "Who is Hiraku?"

"A noble. He's a runner. Don't tell me anything, Chihiro!"

"Okay, I won't," I laughed. Then I couldn't stop laughing - at how our lives had jumped from one extreme to another in a matter of hours. Maybe nothing in the spirit world made sense. Maybe I liked it better that way.

The committee members filed into the room as many servants placed chairs in a large circle that included Kohaku and myself. For the most part, I remained silent already aware of what the committee had come to tell us. Besides, I was less interested in how many events would be included and more interested in the fact that these spirits spoke to us as if we had been their royals all along, as if nothing had changed.

I kept a pretty smile on my face, as I felt I should. But in reality, I wanted to run screaming. Should we be laughing, drinking wine, and enjoying the company of our loyal subjects? People had died just a few hours earlier.

Everything was normal. I knew that somehow, but the human side of me was still there and couldn't adjust as quickly as the gods around me did.

For a moment - just a moment, I closed my eyes hoping to block out all the things around me. That much was easy enough. What wasn't easy was blocking out the threads of Fate that brushed against my mind, making my world noisy and restless. How did Minori stay so calm all the time? It didn't seem possible.

The committee members finally left as the sun began to set. Night draped over the palace smoothly, leaving me with at least some peace.

Kohaku and I went for a walk then in the royal gardens, something typical monarchs might do. I guessed we were typical monarchs now. Still, he handled me carefully. Not that I didn't give him reason to do so. We spoke only between my bouts of silent tears. But I was still keeping my emotions in check better than could be expected considering.

Occasionally I would share what I was feeling, and he always had something to say to make everything seem reletively minor. He said that what happened with Boh was Fate, that I would get used to everything soon enough, and that the powers I had as goddess of Fate hadn't even entirely awakened but they would do so slowly. He said that everyhting would be fine. And he was right.

But I couldn't help it. I was still feeling rather human. I still needed to go through my emotional breakdown before my mind would be at ease. And that's exactly what I did when we went back inside to relax.

I woke with a start. I was in a large, overly decorative bedroom with more floral patterns than I cared for. It was still dark outside. I hadn't been asleep long.

A thread of Fate brushed against my mind whimsically. Yubaba was almost here. She would want to see me.

She didn't know what or who I was. She only knew where I was because Granny had told her what I said about Minori waiting for me.

Yubaba was in for a surprise if she'd ever had one. There was nothing that she could to me. Not directly at least. I had a feeling that she wouldn't give up so easily though, no matter what. Yubaba, I now knew, was one of the most powerful witches in the world. She and Zeniba were the witchling twins and were famous around the world for being the most powerful duo other than the king and queen themselves. But that was a long time ago when the two of them still worked together.

My hand flew to my head immediately. All of the knowledge I now had access to see was giving me a migraine since I didn't know how to stop it from coming to me, and it was causing so much pressure in my mind. I couldn't comprehend so much at once.

"My lady, may I assisst you?" A sweet, childlike voice echoed across the room. A young girl stood at the door ready to attend to me.

"What is your name?" I asked her immediately, not wanting to treat her like just a servant girl.

"Ami," she told me, and my memories of Ami, my best friend from the human world, came to me. Recalling the memories soothed the headache somehow.

"Ami, I'm fine now. But thank you."

She beamed at me with a large smile. "Your welcome, my lady! Let me know if I can do anything for you!"

"Actually, you can take me to my husband if you know where he is," I said, then realized exactly what I'd said. The human in me squealed at referring to him as my husband. Everything seemed to be perfect yet horribly wrong at the same time.

"Of course, madam," she said with a bow. Gracefully, I slid to the floor and began to follow her. "My queen, forgive me, but you are a mess. May I cast a spell to fix your clothes and hair?"

I nodded her approval and smiled at the familiar kimono. It was the one I had wore when I first came here. Ami must have used the same spell that Kohaku had used then.

In the throne room we had met the Games committee in, Kohaku sat in his throne. He leaned forward and stared at the floor heavily, lost in thought. "Thank you, Ami," I said to the bubbily girl as she left the room. My voice caught Kohaku's attention. He looked up at me with restless eyes.

"She will be here soon. I can feel her anger already."

"I know. That's why I came," I told him, just as the large double doors flew open, and a flaming Yubaba rushed towards me.

"YOU!" She screeched, barreling through the barricade of servants who had appeared from no where to stop her. Once again her hair and fingers snaked around me and took me captive. Her eye as large as my face glared right into my soul. "You killed my baby!"

"Yubaba, I suggest you let go of her," Kohaku said, walking towards us.

"And you, boy, don't think I've forgotten the part that you played in the act either! But you, Chihiro. I should have never allowed you to stay in my bathhouse again. I should have turned you into a pig like your parents eight years ago! My baby is dead because of you! But I can bring him back! All I need is your life. You life sacrificed for his will bring my baby back to me! I know the magic well enough to do it, all I need is the last ingredient! Your soul shall be mine to repay me this pain and suffering!"

Then a flurry of spells engufled Yubaba who screamed threats towards me as a whirlwind whisked her from the room, from the palace, and from the city itself. Guards rushed to my side, apologizing that she hadn't been destroyed because they weren't strong enough to take care of her. Her anger made her too strong. They had been able to banish her from the city though. They all swore that she'd never bother me ever again.

Fate told me that they were wrong though it was unclear just how wrong there were.

"It's alright," I told the guards, the servants, and Kohaku who all asked if I was okay. "I'm alright. But I do think I'll go back to bed now. I'm too tired for this. The sun is about to come up anyway."

Ami led me back to my room since finding it again would be impossible. In my room, I pulled the ugly floral curtains aside to reveal the perfect view of the night sky just as the first rays of sunlight of the day shone on the horizon. "Ami, I despise floral. Can we change them to something less busy? I like stripes. Purple and silver."

"Of course, my lady! Consider it done! Because it already is."

I turned to see the fabrics of the room changed according to my wishes. The room was much more pleasing to the eye now.

Ami closed the curtains and left the room as I walked over the bed. Kohaku caught the door before it closed and came in. He didn't say anything. Instead, he walked straight over and crawled into bed with me, wrapping his arms around me.

Fate's threads brushed against my mind once again, startling me this time. _It may be dawn, child, but nighttime is quickly approaching._

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**(A/N: Well enjoyed? Please, review. I know this story isn't that good, but please enjoy! Thank you for reading. Stay put for the next chapter.)**


	14. Chapter 14

**(A/N: One more chapter and I'm free from writing this second sequel. But don't worry I'll come up with a different sequel to write. Thank you, also, for giving me reviews about this story. "Changing Fate" is coming up after my story "Promise" so beware. To all my fans and readers out there reading my story... thank you for giving my reviews, now on with the story ^.^)**

**Disclaimer: I own NOTHING of Spirited Away!**

_**"Promise"**_

_By: Arlina'Harris_

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_Chapter 14 _

"There's no water here. I can walk across now," I whispered, tightening my grip on Kohaku's hand.

"But I can't go any farther," Kohaku told me once again. He couldn't go with me because he wasn't human. I could go because of the magic Minori had placed on me. I could go because that magic hadn't wore off yet. "Just go back the way you came, and you'll be fine. But you have to promise not to look back, not until you've passed through the tunnel."

"Oh, not this again. Do you plan to wipe my memories this time as well?" I asked in a teasing voice, but part of me was still a little worried.

"Of course not. I'm not that stupid. You would come back, and I would be in trouble. But if you look back, you might not end up on the human side at all. It's just part of the magic."

"Do you promise?" I asked him.

"I promise," he told me with a smile. "Now go and don't look back."

Just then, I let go of his hand and lept from the steps into the grass. I ran as fast as I could to the plaster clock tower where I would re-enter the human world. I ran because I was afraid that I wouldn't go if I didn't do it fast. Leaving again scared me.

Fate reassured me that Kohaku's promise would yet again be kept. So the worry washed away as my footsteps echoed in the tunnel. Suddenly, I was back to where it all began in the first place. Now I walked slowly. The gate to the spirit world wouldn't be open again until that night at twilight. So now I could spend the day with my family before coming up with something to assure them that I'd be okay even if I was leaving. But first I needed an excuse for my absense.

Fate would help me out with all of that though. So I just smiled and walked slowly through the woods towards my parent's house.

It took quite a while to get there on foot. But when I reached the edge of the wood where the trees met the yard, I noticed all of the cars in my parents driveway and the black ribbon on the mailbox.

I ran to the front door and opened it quietly where I heard my father's voice saying, "She has been missing now for three months. It's time that we gave up and faced the truth that we'll never see our baby girl again. Chihiro, just know that your mother and I love you dearly."

Tears streamed down my face. They thought I was dead. But what else could they think? Three months was a long time to be gone without a trace or a word.

"Daddy," I said, causing the entire assembly to turn my way. "I'm so sorry. I love you, too. I really do."

I thought they would hate me, that they would yell and scream, and that they would never want to look at me again. But Mom and Dad ran into a hug. My cousins, aunts, and uncles all hugged me. Ami hugged me. They all cried and questioned. But I couldn't get much in. Instead, I spent the day with everyone, and we had one big family reunion.

When afternoon came around, I asked to be along with Mom, Dad, and Ami. They were the only three who needed an apology.

"What is it, baby?" Mom asked me, taking my hands in hers.

"I just thought that all of you deserved to know the truth. I wanted you to know because when I leave this time, I don't know if I'll be able to return again."

"You're leaving?" Ami screeched. "You're leaving again? Have you met some guy and secretly gotten married? Are you pregnant?"

"Ami, don't overreact. And, no to all of the above," I lied. They didn't need to know the marriage part. "I know you won't know what I'm talking about Ami, but Mom and Dad, do you remember when we first moved here?"

They both nodded, and utter confusion colored their faces. "Of course, we do."

"Do you remember Dad taking a shortcut and us getting lost?"

The two of them shook their heads and glanced at each other. Then I did something that I probably shouldn't have. I used some of my own magic, that I had only recently learned to control at all, and used it to bring forth their lost memories of that time. Their eyes grew wide as they looked at each other. "Yes, I remember now!"

"I do, too."

"Well, when you ate the food at that restaurant, you were eating the food of the spirits. We were in the spirit world. But the witch of the bathhouse thought you were greedy and turned you into pigs. I had to work for her in order to save you both. Then we came back and lost our memories."

"Stop playing around, Chihiro," Ami told me with a laugh, looking at me as if I were insane.

"Ami, she isn't making this up. I remember something like that," Dad told her. She looked at all of us like we were insane.

"Just listen, okay? When I ran after Sora and the girls, I ended up stumbling back there. I've been there this whole time, and now I have so many friends and people who need me there. I can come back sometimes, but I'm going to live there. I know you don't understand, but I belong there."

"Okay," Mom said to my surprise. "Honey, I believe you."

Dad nodded as well, but Ami shook her head in disbelief and ran out muttering about this being one crazy dream.

I was surprised that my parents had agreed so quickly, but in their hearts they probably knew it was true. I wasn't going to throw in the monarch thing or the meeting my real parents thing. Those seemed unneccessary. So with that, I spent the rest of my time talking to Mom and Dad about the good times that we had while I was growing up. Then I headed back for the gate.

Half way across the yard, Ami met me. "Hey," she said, out of breath from running. "I don't believe what you say or anything, but we're still friends. I just wanted to say that that will always be true. I'll miss you, and if you come back, you better come see me."

"I will, I swear. I wouldn't come back without seeing you, Ami. I'm going to miss you, too. I've been missing you."

She hugged my neck and waved as she turned back to her house. Everyone knew I was okay. Now I could go back to the spirit world, go back home, in peace. Kohaku was waiting for me. And one day wihtout him was as bad as three months.

Back in the spirit world, Kohaku was waiting for me exactly where I'd left him. I hopped up the steps and into his arms happily.

"I guess I can trust you after all," I whispered.

"You always could, Chihiro. But we should go before Yubaba returns. She's still angry."

I nodded happpily, and we flew back to the Imperial City in what seemed like only seconds compared to our first flight there.

As soon as we landed on the patio in the garden, the servants surrounded us, begging us to tell them that we were hungry or tired or bored. They all seemed so eager to do whatever we pleased. It was nice, but - and I admitted this at the risk of sounding like a stuck-up royal - it was rather annoying.

Except Ami, the hand maid who followed me everywhere. She was so bubbily and happy and ready to do anything like the others, but she was somehow different. Not because she shared my best friend's name. The two of them were entirely different. This Ami made me smile. She so small and adorable and at times clumsy.

Kohaku and I parted ways with a smile. We each had responsiblites now in our new roles that we had to fulfill.

I was starting to get used to the way my days went. Kohaku met with committee for the Games and other events, constantly planning the next amusement for the gods. I was more concerned with keeping the gods happy now, entertaining them until the next festival began or solving disputes between them. Sometimes it could be funny, and being Queen, I was allowed to laugh at them if I so please. They usually laughed with me.

After our second meal of the day, Kohaku and I would go for a walk in the everchanging garden. There were roses that changed colors one day and poppy flowers that danced the next. It was always interesting, always different.

I could live here. It was paradise. But Fate told me that I would grow tired of it all. I disagreed. With Kohaku here with me, I would never want to change a thing.

My life was perfect. I just hoped that it would stay that way for a long time, forever would work.

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**(A/N: Likie? Hope you enjoyed ^.^ I never thought anyone would read my fanfic. Okay so I'll be posting the next chapter... after, I'll be posting the next story. Enjoy the next one, and hope you enjoyed this one! Review!)**


	15. Chapter 15

**(A/N: This is going to be a short chapter. So... enjoy!)**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing of the movie.**

_**"Promise"**_

_By: Arlina'Harris_

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_Chapter 15 _

"You have to promise that, too."

"Why are you making me promise all I these things all of a sudden, Chihiro?"

Kohaku's arms pulled me closer to him, and I pressed my lips to his briefly. "Because if you promise it, you have to keep it no matter what. So promise me."

"Okay," he said with a laugh. "I promise."

"Promise what?"

"I promise that I will always be with you. No matter what. Are you happy now?"

"Yes. Yes, I am." Smiling, I looked into his eyes and leaned to kiss him again.

Laying in my bed together at night was the only time we actually got to act like this, to joke and tease and flirt. Everywhere else we had to be regal and elegant and professional. We spent every night together. Sometimes I wondered if Kohaku even had a room at all. I don't know why he would. He doesn't need one.

I enjoyed the time we spent together as much as I could. The next few weeks would be the Games here in the spirit world. It would be tiring. I already knew that thanks to my strengthened connection with Fate.

Although surely my referring to Fate so often had to get annoying to people. I was starting to sound like Minori more and more, rambling about Fate and saying things that made no sense. I was sure everyone here was used to that though.

"I wish we could go on a vacation from all of this. We were thrown into it before we could even catch our breaths."

"Maybe we will," Kohaku told me, stroking my hair. "After the Games, things will be quiet for a bit. We could just take off somewhere without saying a thing to anyone."

"That's very irresponsible, don't you think? I never expected you to suggest such a thing."

"So you don't want to go?"

"Of course, I do!" I squealed excitedly. "But I will tell Ami that we are going. She would be worried, and I know that she will keep our secret. But where will we go?"

"I don't know. We can cross that bridge when we get to it."

The Games were at least a little exciting. It would have been better if I hadn't already known who was going to win everything. But just to be mean, I would tell Kohaku who was going to win half way through an event. That way I got to have a little fun, too.

Hiraku the noble who participated in the marathon event beat everyone including the gods of wind. It was the big upset of the decade, and I could see that they wouldn't get over it for quite a while. Perhaps it was the upset of the century.

After the Games were over, Kohaku and I did go somewhere. We ended up at his river for a while. It was peaceful there, and it was good to see him so relaxed and at home. I felt at home, too. Rivers were connected to the human world, so it just felt so much like being back.

Afterwards, we spent some time traveling the world and seeing all sorts of festivals. The spirit world turned out to be as diverse as the human world was. It was an interesting experience to say the least.

The sad part is that was probably the last of our adventures. When we did return to the city, a council of elders met to scold us for leaving at such an important time. With the Games over, there was a need to plan some other means of distraction for the gods.

I would have thought royals would have more important jobs than entertaining, but wars and such weren't exactly a problem. Boredom really was the only real threat.

And oh, how horrible that was!

But I could deal with all their nonsense. In the end, I had my dragon, my happiness, and my promise. What else could I ask for?

THE END

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**(A/N: I'll be writing the next sequel to it. Hope you enjoyed!)**


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